A Jumia partner, and CEO Topik M&F Kollection, Ekhomalomen Innocent, has described the recent move of the e-commerce firm to have pickup stations in locations close to customers, as ideal for promoting online shopping culture, especially in rural and secondary cities in the country.

Innocent explained that the initiative will improve confidence in online shopping in a settlement like his, which has many skeptics of online services.

“I am an investor and I partner with Jumia. I own Benin-Ugbor Pickup Station. This neighbourhood is actually dominated by artisan people and we also have other individuals that live here and a lot of them like to shop online. Having a pickup station close to people is 100% ideal because they will have the confidence, as some do not believe in online shopping,” he said.

On how he benefits from the partnership, Innocent said every package that gets to his station fetches him commission from Jumia. “I am sure of the commission on every package that drops in my pickup station, so with Jumia I make a lot of revenue,” he explained.

The initiative has seen Jumia embark on strategic partnerships with hundreds of SMEs across different regions of the country in recent months.

According to Innocent, his shop In the Ugbor community, which also serves as the pickup station, is currently treating residents to a new delivery experience. “We are about three months old, and I can say to you that every month an average of 150 packages are picked up by customers.”

Speaking further, the entrepreneur expressed optimism about the partnership. “I know the packages will increase rapidly because our presence has tremendously grown," he said.