Jumia, Posta deal cuts delivery charges to Sh116 outside Nairobi

Postal Corporation of Kenya, Courier Services General Manager, Elizabeth Mwaura and Jumia Kenya CEO, Sam Chappatte during a past event at Movenpick Hotel, Westlands. FILE PHOTO | NMG 

By ELIZABETH KIVUVA
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Summary

• E-commerce firm Jumia has enhanced its partnership with Postal Corporation of Kenya to offer a discount on delivery fees as shoppers increasingly order goods online to stay safe from the coronavirus pandemic.
• Customers will pay only Sh116, inclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT) to collect their Jumia orders from the 620 post office outlets outside Nairobi.
• The partnership, which was first announced in 2015 to boost e-commerce uptake in the country, will be targeting only customers outside Nairobi, where delivery charges cost Sh300 or more per consignment, depending on the pickup stations.

E-commerce firm Jumia has enhanced its partnership with Postal Corporation of Kenya to offer a discount on delivery fees as shoppers increasingly order goods online to stay safe from the coronavirus pandemic.

Customers will pay only Sh116, inclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT) to collect their Jumia orders from the 620 post office outlets outside Nairobi.

The partnership, which was first announced in 2015 to boost e-commerce uptake in the country, will be targeting only customers outside Nairobi, where delivery charges cost Sh300 or more per consignment, depending on the pickup stations.

According to Jumia Kenya CEO Sam Chappatte, the service will give customers access to critical goods at fair prices at a time when availability and pricing are a major concern for customers in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic that has hit the globe, slowing down business in Kenya and affecting the way customers shop.

Jumia has operations in Nairobi, Mombasa, Eldoret, Kisumu and Kisii, although the company receives orders come from across the country. Its partnership is meant to reach more customers outside these areas.

“To support communities around the country, we are offering ‘at cost’ last mile delivery for essential products like food and hygiene products,” Mr Chappatte told the Business Daily.

When shopping on Jumia, customers will have the option to pick up products from the Post Office outlet closest to them during the checkout process. The goods will then be dispatched to the selected outlet for collection.

The deal with the State agency will see the logistics and supply-chain network deliver the much-needed basic essentials to customers through its vast network of post offices.

The partnership comes as government urged private sector employees as well as civil servants to work from home unless they offer critical services.

This was one of the measures put in place to reduce spread of Coronavirus, which had infected more than 30 people in Kenya by last week and led to the death of one.