Transforming Africa’s Amazon: how a redesign fueled Jumia's growth across Africa
Creating a seamless, unified shopping journey that builds trust and empowers millions of customers across Africa
COMPANY / YEAR
Jumia - 2018
INDUSTRY
E-commerce
TIMELINE
12 months
01. Context
In collaboration with Product and Engineering, I led a redesign of Jumia, Africa's largest e-commerce, logistics, and payment platform, to modernize its user experience.
The project focused on simplifying critical user journeys (product discovery, browsing, checkout, account management), and establishing a scalable design system for local teams. The result was a modernized, mobile-first platform that elevated the brand and enhanced the shopping experience for millions of users across Africa.
02. Challenge
Jumia, often called "Africa’s Amazon," faced a critical challenge: delivering a seamless e-commerce experience across diverse markets with varied devices and network conditions. Conversion rates lagged, mobile experiences were inconsistent, and the checkout process frustrated users.
Create a mobile-first, lightweight experience optimized for low connectivity and devices with limited performance.
Simplify the path to purchase by optimizing catalogue, menu, and checkout flows.
Create a customer-focused template that local marketing teams can easily adapt to their regional campaigns.
Develop a scalable design system.
Align the digital experience with Jumia’s brand values and identity, across platforms.
Design goals
03. Process
The context we inherited
When I joined Jumia, the company was operating with vastly different internet infrastructures, payment systems, and cultural expectations. The platform still relied heavily on cash-on-delivery despite security challenges, because many customers weren't comfortable paying online. This complexity created a unique design challenge, how do you create a unified experience while respecting local market nuances?
Uncovering the pain points
Users across key African markets faced multiple challenges when shopping online. Slow and unreliable internet, coupled with shared or low-end devices, made browsing difficult. Checkout processes were long and complicated, product displays were cluttered and overwhelming, and switching between different languages or interfaces caused navigation confusion. Low trust and a lack of social proof further discouraged purchases, while unexpected costs and payment issues frequently led to cart abandonment.
Key pain points:
Slow and unreliable internet connections
Long checkout processes causing frustration and abandonment
Cluttered product displays slowing decision-making
Navigation confusion from switching between languages and inconsistent interfaces
Competitive landscape review
Together with the product team, we conducted an extensive competitive analysis to benchmark Jumia against leading e-commerce platforms both regionally and globally.
Analyzed direct and indirect competitors including Amazon, Shopee, Konga, and local marketplace platforms
Evaluated user experience patterns, conversion optimization tactics, and mobile-first design approaches
Conducted feature comparison matrices across checkout flows, search functionality, and product discovery
Compiled a comprehensive library of screenshots and interaction patterns
Identified successful design patterns for trust-building, social proof, and conversion optimization
Analyzed mobile app store ratings and user reviews to understand competitive advantages
Reimagining information architecture
We introduced a Progressive Web App (PWA) for faster, lighter, and more reliable performance on all devices, while adopting a mobile-first interface that streamlined catalogs, reduced clicks, and enhanced vendor visibility. The aim was to transform the user journey into an intuitive, engaging, and culturally relevant experience, empowering users across Africa to shop confidently and effortlessly.
The Homepage: One of our biggest challenges was the homepage. Each market had different top-selling categories, so we developed a dynamic system that could prioritize content based on location while maintaining a consistent brand experience.
We introduced a modular approach: hero banners that could showcase local campaigns, category navigation that adapted to regional preferences, and social proof elements that felt culturally appropriate (testimonials in local languages, local influencer partnerships).
Mobile-First for Africa's reality: By 2018, our data showed that most of the traffic came from mobile devices, often older Android phones on 2G or 3G connections. This reality shaped every wireframe decision.
We redesigned the product catalog with thumb-friendly navigation and implemented progressive image loading. The mobile wireframes prioritized speed and data efficiency over visual flourishes.
Simplifying Checkout: The checkout flow was simplified to reduce friction and build trust. Progress indicators, clearer cost breakdowns, and streamlined forms replaced the long, confusing process that often led to cart abandonment. A mobile-first approach ensured smooth performance even on slower networks and older devices, while flexible payment options like mobile money and cash-on-delivery were made more visible. These changes made checkout faster, more transparent, and more reliable, improving both conversion and user confidence.
Decision-driven Product page: The product page was redesigned to highlight the essentials: images, price, features, shipping, reviews, and vendor details, while cutting down clutter. A clear hierarchy and progressive image loading improved readability and performance across devices. Pages became more adaptable for local markets, allowing country teams to integrate regional promotions without breaking consistency. By emphasizing trust signals and usability, the new product page offered a cleaner, more engaging shopping experience that supported confident purchase decisions.
Design System: building for scale and localization
Creating a design system for Jumia meant balancing global e-commerce best practices with African cultural sensibilities. Working closely with the frontend team, we built a system that could scale across markets while allowing for meaningful localization.
Every component was designed with African infrastructure realities in mind:
Buttons: Larger tap targets for less precise touchscreens
Images: Smart compression and progressive loading for slower connections
Forms: Streamlined inputs with minimal required fields
Cards: Simplified product cards with clear hierarchy, fewer distractions, and support for multilingual content
Navigation: Lightweight menus with collapsible categories for faster load times and easier discovery
Search & Filters: Optimized search bar with typo tolerance and quick, mobile-friendly filter chips
Outcome
The visual design needed to feel premium enough to compete globally while remaining accessible to first-time online shoppers. We developed a clean, modern interface with enough visual cues to guide new users without overwhelming them.
Responsive design implementation: We approached the visual design with a mobile-first mindset, creating intuitive, touch-friendly interfaces that worked seamlessly across all devices. On mobile, navigation and interactions were optimized for one-handed use, with fast-loading images and swipe-friendly product galleries. Tablet layouts balanced information density and adapted gracefully to both orientations, while desktop designs leveraged larger screens with multi-column layouts, detailed product views, and advanced interaction features, ensuring a consistent, engaging experience no matter the device.
05. Impact
Our redesign delivered clear results that showed the value of a user-focused approach. Mobile shopping became easier and more engaging, leading to higher conversion rates and larger average orders. Users could navigate the platform more intuitively, reducing the need for customer support, while first-time visitors were more likely to complete onboarding and become active customers.
Redesigning for users delivered clear, quantifiable results
Users: 2.7M → 6.8M
GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume): €507.1M → €836.5M
Revenue: ~€94M → €139.6M
06. Reflections
The PWA adoption (especially in contexts where network speed is low or devices are low spec) is very impactful. If many users move from native app or heavy browser pages to lighter PWA, this reduces friction, data cost, load times, which tends to improve engagement and conversion.
This project remains one of my most meaningful design challenges: balancing global ambitions with local needs, technical constraints with user expectations, and business pressures with ethical design practices. The lessons learned continue to influence how I approach cross-cultural design challenges today.