Axa to pay €75m for an eight per cent stake in Africa Internet Group (AIG) and plans to distribute insurance through Jumia online stores
French insurance giant Axa agreed to pay €75m (£57.9m) today for an eight per cent stake in ecommerce company Africa Internet Group (AIG).
As part of the deal, Axa will gain the right to exclusively provide insurance products through Jumia, an online shopping platform and AIG's main subsidiary.
"Internet is creating unparalleled opportunities for consumers and businesses in Africa to connect and do business in a new way," Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara, founders and co-chief executives of Jumia and AIG, said in a statement. "We continue to be very excited about the growth prospects of Jumia and this new partnership will enable us to capture them."
Denis Duverne, deputy chief executive of Axa, added:
"This transaction confirms Axa's long-term commitment towards the African markets and represents another step in our development on the continent. Africa is home to some of the most dynamic and promising insurance markets in the world and our partnership with Africa Internet Group will enable us to accelerate materially our development by having access to their rich customer base and to their state-of-the-art e-commerce technology."
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The transaction is expected to complete during the first quarter of 2016, subject to certain closing conditions.
Jumia, which operates in 11 different African countries including Kenya, Ivory Coast and Ghana, saw its volume of transactions grow by 265 per cent in the first nine months of 2015, hitting €206m in value.