Mastercard invests in Jumia

Investors are now setting their sights on Africa as a growing retail scene. Mastercard has announced its plans to invest in Africa online retailer Jumia. The credit card company will be joined by other investors including Pernod Ricard, MTN Group and Rocket Internet.

Mastercard and Jumia first worked together in 2016 with the launch of Mastercard Payment Gateway and the launch of JumiaPay, the latter's payment processing service. Mastercard's total investment in the company totals about 56 million dollars. Jumia is also expected to make an initial public offering in New York.

As part of the conditions of the agreement, Jumia will be building on Mastercard’s presence across Africa, to help further expansion into new customer segments. Both companies will also be building on their current efforts to accelerate the adoption of electronic payment platforms among consumers and merchants.

Africa faces a shortage of desirable items, like designer watches and sunglasses, on the market, and Jumia has the potential to fill that void. As retailers have already laid out expansion plans for the Middle East and China, Africa is finally being considered their next key global market.