Jumia, Africa’s leading e-commerce platform, has appointed Temidayo Ojo as the new Chief Executive Officer for its pivotal Nigerian market. The move, effective immediately, sees Ojo succeed Sunil Natraj, who departs after a 19-month tenure.
Temidayo joined Jumia in 2020 as Head of Planning and Performance. He quickly rose through the ranks—first as Chief Commercial Officer, then as CEO of Jumia Ghana—before assuming this new role.
Ojo’s promotion underscores Jumia’s commitment to developing local talent and empowering leaders from within as the company pushes toward profitability.
“I am deeply honoured to be entrusted with the leadership of Jumia Nigeria, a market that holds immense potential and strategic importance,“ Ojo said while he accepted his appointment.
“As someone who grew up in Nigeria and understands the unique needs of our customers and partners, this role is deeply personal to me.”
Before taking on this role, Sunil Natraj—who also led Jumia Ghana—stepped in as CEO of Jumia Nigeria in December 2023 during a broader leadership reshuffle aimed at consolidating African operations.
During his 19-month tenure, Natraj focused on stabilising the Nigerian unit amid inflation, rising logistics costs, and intense competition from both local startups and global players. Despite these efforts, the group continued to report quarterly losses, with Nigeria remaining its most challenging market due to persistent macroeconomic pressure.
“I’m excited to welcome Temidayo to this new role. His leadership in Ghana has shown what’s possible when a strong team shares a clear vision. His energy, values, and business acumen make him the right person to lead Jumia Nigeria into its next chapter. I equally thank Sunil for his contribution to Jumia, particularly in leading the turnaround of our largest operation. We’re grateful for his leadership and wish him the very best,” said Francis Dufay, CEO of Jumia.
E-commerce adoption in Nigeria still faces hurdles such as poor infrastructure and low consumer trust. However, Jumia is placing its bet on local leadership and execution to drive better outcomes. Ojo’s track record at Jumia Ghana suggests a renewed focus on operational simplicity, last-mile logistics, and strengthening pay-on-delivery reliability.
As Jumia Nigeria enters another leadership chapter, the spotlight will be on whether Ojo can steer the Nigerian arm of the business into a self-sustaining, scalable e-commerce engine before the 2027 deadline.
