Pernod Ricard is taking a slice of Jumia to grow its presence in Africa

French wine and spirits maker Pernod Ricard has announced it is investing in Jumia, a leading e-Commerce company in Africa, as it seeks to strengthen its presence on the continent.

Although details of the investment is yet to be made public, Pernod Ricard said in a statement that the investment makes it a strategic shareholder in Jumia, enabling the world’s second largest wine and spirits’ company share its deep knowledge about consumer and physical distribution networks in Africa with Jumia. Jumia, which has successfully ran its eCommerce business in Africa since 2012 and has developed capabilities in digital, logistics and payment platforms.

“Pernod Ricard has made Africa its new frontier, as shown by the successive openings of subsidiaries over the last few years. Our strategy is consumer-oriented and we strive to transform to strenghten our growth in this very promising continent,” stated Gilles Bogaert, Pernod Ricard’s EMEA LATAM CEO. “Jumia is a partner of choice as digital and e-commerce represent real strategic accelerators in this Region for us,” Bogaert added.

Already present in 13 African countries, the funding from Pernod Ricard positions Jumia to consolidate its regional leadership and also allows Pernod Ricard to benefit from new opportunities to distribute its products online on the continent.

“We are very proud to welcome Pernod Ricard as a new strategic partner of Jumia,” said Sacha Poignonnec and Jérémy Hodara, co-CEOs of Jumia. “This investment is an acknowledgement of the growth and innovation that Jumia has achieved since 2012.”

Paul-Robert Bouhier, President of Pernod Ricard Sub Saharan Africa noted that the company has been partnering with Jumia since 2016, but the “reinforced strategic partnership” will enable Pernod Ricard offer its premium brands to more consumers in Africa.

Pernord Ricard’s partnership with Jumia has been through Jumia Party, which delivers alcoholic drinks to customers within an hour. It is currently available in Nairobi, but with the new investment in Jumia, this is expected to be expanded to other parts of Africa.

Originally published at The Nerve Africa.