Jumia Accountable for the Safety and Quality of Products Sold on its Platform by Third Parties, Says COMESA

The committee, a key part of regional trade bloc, COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) has been investigating Jumia since September 2021 culminating in a ruling which forces the company to overhaul its terms and conditions.

Pan-African e-commerce company, Jumia, will now be liable for the safety and quality of products sold on its platform by third-party merchants following a ruling by the competition committee of COMESA.
The committee, a key part of regional trade bloc, COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) has been investigating Jumia since September 2021 culminating in a ruling which forces the company to overhaul its terms and conditions.
“The Commission’s observation was that Jumia was dissociating itself from the transaction when in an actual transaction, the consumer deals only with Jumia in that it is the one that receives the orders, payments, and delivers on behalf of the seller,” COMESA said in a statement.

Moreover, consumers can now file a lawsuit against Jumia in instances where the contact particulars of vendors not directly affiliated with the company are untraceable. Jumia is also responsible for verifying the precision of any data regarding the sellers and their merchandise that is displayed on its website.

“Any person affected by the inaccuracy of the information published on the platform can return the product to the extent that it is affected by the inaccurate information that was bought through the platform,” stated the Commission.

Jumia has also been obligated to disclose its legal details to customers and to provide them with information about communication channels and methods for resolving disputes.

The leading e-commerce player in Africa is said to have 8.4 million active customers across 23 countries in Africa, including in 3 COMESA countries:

  • Egypt
  • Kenya
  • Tunisia
  • Uganda

Users in Africa have always complained of poor quality, specifically a difference in quality between a product as advertised on the Jumia app and the actual purchase.

“As the goods offered through our marketplace are manufactured by third parties, we have only limited control over the quality of these goods,” Jumia said in its 2019 IPO prospectus.

“We cannot always effectively prevent our sellers from selling harmful or defective goods, which could cause death, disease or injury to our consumers or damage their property.”

Since the IPO, the company has also been dogged by several issues, including ethical concerns. Former employees complained of poor pay, unrealistic targets, and unequal treatment of staff in the lower rungs, specifically the sales team called J-Force.

The company was also accused of cooking sales numbers by investors in 2019, a few months after its IPO.

 

 

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