JUMIA FOUNDING DUO EXIT ROCKETIN EARLY 2014 TO PURSUE NEW ECHOVC FUNDEDSTARTUPS

You have no doubt heard that Jumia’s Tunde
Kehinde is planning to exit

the ecommerce company
that he co-founded with Raphael Afaedor under the
Rocket Internet banner. So far we have been unable
to reach Tunde to confirm or deny the speculation.
However, sources familiar with developments have
informed us that both CEOs are indeed on their way
out of Jumia. If not already, by early 2014.
Both entrepreneurs are leaving of their own volition,
our sources say. Each of them will be starting new
ventures of their own. Tunde in particular is said to
be doing something around logistics infrastructure.
It is not clear if the exits are deliberately
synchronized, but most interestingly, the said new
ventures are likely to receive seed investment from
EchoVC.
We have reached out to EchoVC MD, Eghosa
Omoigui, for comment.
Installed as founding co-CEOs by the German
Samwer-led Rocket mothership, Tunde and Raphael
helped get Jumia off the ground in May 2012, under
the twin labels of Kasuwa and Sabunta, which were
later merged to become the single ecommerce
juggernaut that it currently is. On their watch, the
startup has raised up to 50 million dollars in funding
from globally recognised blue chip investors,
including Summit Partners, JP Morgan, Kinnevik,
and more, built out considerable logistics and
warehousing infrastructure and employs close to
1,000 staff.
Whispers of Tunde Kehinde’s exodus from Nigeria’s
fastest growing startup have been flitting around for
a while now. If our sources bear out, Rocket’s
Africa Internet Holdings management will no doubt
have had ample warning and must be realigning
accordingly. Considering the speculation about both
executive’s future endeavours, Jumia’s loss is
expected to be the local ecosystem’s gain.
Both co-CEOs are Harvard MBAs and startup
veterans. Before Jumia,Tunde Kehinde worked with
Diageo and co-founded Bandeka, a dating site for a
African professionals. Raphael Afaedor has worked
at Monster technologies, Goldman Sachs and
Notore. In 2011, he co-founded QluQlu.com, a
Groupon-type daily deals website.
We have reached out to all parties concerned and
will continue to update the story as new facts
arrive.