Wall Street is finally turning more bullish on Jumia Technologies as its debut results as a public company quelled some fears amid a scathing report from short-seller Citron Research.
Between 6 March, the day before MTN announced its results for the year to December, and 9 May, when it published a first-quarter trading update, its share price has increased by 36%.
When e-commerce platform Jumia listed in New York last month, it was heralded as Africa’s first unicorn to go public.
MTN Group plans to sell at least half of its R9.4-billion interest in newly listed Jumia Technologies, according to people familiar with the matter.
Jumia Technologies raised $196-million in an initial public offering in New York, as the Africa-focused online retailer looks to boost its profile and expand an ever-growing customer base.
Often tagged as Africa’s Amazon.com, Jumia has been able to grow in markets largely untapped by the US heavyweight, which is hampered by a lack of distribution infrastructure on the continent.
Jumia Technologies said on Monday that Mastercard has agreed to invest €50-million in a private placement ahead of the Africa-focused online retailer’s planned initial public offering in New York.
Jumia has kick-started a plan to sell shares in New York as the fast-growing Nigerian firm seeks to take advantage of rising Internet access and increasing smartphone use on the continent.
MTN Group shares soared by 18.1% on Thursday after Africa’s biggest wireless carrier started a R15-billion disposal plan to shore up the balance sheet.
In the podcast this week, Duncan McLeod and Regardt van der Berg discuss Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams altercation with an SABC news crew at the weekend, and her subsequent apology.