Jumia Dropshipping: Everything You Need To Know

Last updated on June 13th, 2023 at 09:52 am

Are you interested in starting a Jumia dropshipping business but don’t know where to begin? 

We are here to show you the ropes! 

With our comprehensive guide, learn everything you need to know about setting up, managing, and optimizing your dropshipping business. 

We’ll provide you with the information and resources to get you started and ensure your business succeeds. 

Get ready to take control of your financial future and start on the path to success with Jumia dropshipping!

Related: 7 Steps to Market a Product Online in Kenya.

1. Introduction to Jumia Dropshipping: 

a. Definition of Dropshipping 

To help you wrap your head around all this, let’s start first by defining dropshipping.

Dropshipping is a way of selling products online without the need to store inventory. 

It is a great way for entrepreneurs to start an online business with minimal risk and low overhead costs. 

It works by partnering with a dropshipping supplier who will handle the storage, shipping, and delivery of the products you sell. 

You will then list their products on your website or marketplace, and when a customer orders, you purchase the item from the supplier and have it shipped directly to the customer. 

It’s a great way to start an online business without investing in stock or worrying about shipping and fulfillment logistics. 

Here’s a picture by Oberlo showing the entire process:

So, in short, dropshipping works like this:

• You create a store showcasing products and find someone who can supply the product on demand.
• A customer comes to your store and places an order
• You forward the order to a supplier and pay the wholesale price for the product
• The supplier ships the product to your customer.

Is that how it works on Jumia?

We will discuss this briefly; let’s look at Jumia.

b. Overview of Jumia 

Jumia is an e-commerce platform founded in 2012 and has since become one of the leading online retailers in Africa. 

It offers a wide range of products from electronics, fashion, home appliances, and more. Jumia also provides payment solutions, logistics, customer service, and marketing services. The company operates in 14 countries across Africa and has over 10 million customers. 

With Jumia, you can create an online store in Kenya and Nigeria and sell anything you want to sell.

Jumia’s mission is to provide customers with a convenient shopping experience by offering quality products at competitive prices. 

They strive to make shopping easier for their customers by providing a secure payment system, fast delivery times, and excellent customer service. 

Jumia also works hard to ensure that their products are of the highest quality and are delivered on time. And that’s where you come in.

Did you know Jumia doesn’t own all the products sold on their website?

Yes!

They belong to people like you and me. All Jumia does is provide the logistics required to make a purchase successful.

Related: Don’t Start an Online Store in Kenya Until You Read This!

2. Benefits of Jumia Dropshipping

a. Low Start Up Costs

One of the biggest benefits of selling on Jumia is the low start-up costs. 

With traditional business models, entrepreneurs need to invest large amounts of capital upfront to buy inventory and hire staff. 

With drop shipping, entrepreneurs can start their businesses with minimal investment, as they don’t need to buy any physical inventory. This makes it a great option for entrepreneurs who are just starting out.

As you will see in a minute, all you need to start selling on Jumia is internet access and your national identity card?.

b. Flexible Pricing

Another great benefit of Jumia dropshipping is its flexibility in terms of pricing. 

As a Jumia seller, you can adjust prices according to the target market and the competitive environment. 

This means you can be competitive while still making a profit.

c. Ease of Use

Selling on Jumia is also very easy to get started. 

It is a straightforward process that doesn’t require any technical knowledge or expertise. 

All you need to do is create an account, upload product pictures, and set up prices. 

This makes it an ideal option for entrepreneurs who aren’t tech-savvy.

d. Access to Millions of Ready Customers

Finally, Jumia gives you access to millions of ready customers. 

According to SimilarWeb data, Jumia Kenya received 3.3 million visits per month!

With access to millions of shoppers, entrepreneurs can reach customers already waving wallets ready to add stuff to their carts. 

This makes expanding your customer base and building a successful business much easier.

For one, it eliminates the need to create your own eCommerce website in Kenya (although it makes sense to have one, in the long run, you will discover why in a minute).

3. How to Get Started with Jumia Dropshipping

Before you we talk about how to start selling on Jumia, you first need to understand how dropshipping on Jumia works, it is a little twisted from what we discussed earlier.

First, you create a seller account on Jumia.

When a customer comes and places an order on any of your products, you take the product to Jumia VDO (vendor drop-off locations).

These are Jumia’s designated locations to drop off customer orders. 

From here, Jumia will then deliver the product to the customer.

Due to these VDOs and the promise to deliver fast, Jumia, for example, requires that you are within Nairobi, Lagos, to sell on their platform. 

a. Sign Up with Jumia

To get started, head over to https://www.jumia.co.ke/sp-market-place/ and click start selling.

From here, you need to complete a simple registration form with your personal, business, and bank account details.

• Display Name / Shop Name. This name will be displayed as the store name on the front.

It will appear like this once your store is live.

• Please select if you’re an Individual or Business Entity/Company. If you are an individual, just choose sole proprietorship.

Everything else should be self-explanatory.

Be sure to read and understand the e-contract because there are a ton of vital stuff you need to know in there.

Once done, tick the ‘I have read and accepted E- Contract Kenya’ and click continue.

The next step is to fill in business information.

These include things like office address, blah blah blah.

Most importantly, this is where you upload a copy of your KRA PIN certificate.

Sadly, you can’t sell on Jumia without one of these.

For individuals, this is actually the only legal document you need to start selling on Jumia?.

Again, the boxes with * next to it MUST be filled.

And if you are stuck and don’t know what to write, just read the instructions below the box.

The next step is to submit your bank account details.

How do you wish to receive payments?

There is MPESA and Bank transfer, pick one.

b. Upload Pictures of Your Product

Once accepted, log into your Jumia seller center through https://sellercenter.jumia.co.ke/user/auth/login/

Provide your email and password. You picked these in the earlier step as you were registering, remember??‍♀️

Once logged in, the next step is to upload product images.

This is what the seller center looks like.

I know, there is a ton of information here. 

There are two ways to upload products to Jumia. The first one uploading one by one.

Here, go to your seller center, click on Products and the Add a product.

The next step:

Ignore the Find it on Jumia function; it never works?. I don’t even know why they still have it here.

Click Create a new Product.

Please select a primary category for your product

Add product details, including the name, brand, model, color, etc.

• Fill in the name of the product — Don’t include the brand in the name
• Fill in the brand of the product.  If an item has no indicated brand, use “Generic/Fashion.” If the item has a brand, indicate the same brand as the item. 

If the brand doesn’t exist, create a request for brand creation at the bottom of the page. As indicated in the image below. The brand will be created within 24 working hours.

Fill in the product details as indicated in the image below and click on submit.

Leave the “variation” field empty unless your product has several sizes eg clothes and liquids (for Fashion products, this field must be filled in). 

If your product exists in several colors, you must create additional product pages to add them.

Set the product prices.

When doing that, remember the following:

• Include Jumia’s commission in your price. This is the cut they take from each product sale, and it defers depending on the category. You can see the list here.
• Your profit. After all, you are selling on Jumia to make money, right?

And then finally upload the product images.

Images need at least 200 x 200 pixels with a maximum of 3000 x 3000 pixels. Check the Jumia image guidelines for more details.

Of course, I have skipped some parts, but you must go through each and determine if it is required.

Once done, click Submit and Finish.

From here, your product will go through QR quality assurance. If all goes well, it will be live, and now customers can order it.

What about the second way of adding products?

Well, if you have several products, you can upload them all at once.

Here’s a complete guide on how to do that.

When you see this green check mark next to a product, it means it is already live.

And the red X means it is not visible.

c. Process Orders

Now that your Jumia shop got some products, you are ready to receive orders.

Whenever an order comes, you will receive an email from Jumia.

It looks like this inside:

All you have to do is log into your seller center account.

Under the Orders tab, click on manage orders.

You will see the order details.

To your right, under Actions, click on ‘ready to ship.’ That is if you are ready to drop off the product at Jumia VDO.

Remember, you have 24 hours to accept or reject an order. If you fail to do anything about it, you get hit by a penalty.

When you reach Jumia VDO, download the customer delivery note and get the packaging as per their guidelines.

From there, they will guide you on what to do.

Related: 7 Booming Businesses in Kenya (EXPLAINED)

4. Challenges of Jumia Dropshipping 

Selling on Jumia is a great way to expand your reach and increase your sales. 

With a vast customer base and an easy-to-use online platform, it’s an attractive option for many small businesses. However, there are a few challenges that you should be aware of before taking the plunge.

a. Lack of Control

The first challenge of selling on Jumia is lack of control. As with any marketplace, you don’t have the same level of control over your store as you would on your own website. 

Yes, you set your own prices, but you need to adhere to Jumia’s policies and procedures. This means you can’t just jump in and start selling; you need to research the platform and create an account first.

You also need to wait for your products to be approved.

b. Limited Support

Another challenge is limited support. 

While Jumia offers some support, it’s usually limited to technical issues. You may have to look for help elsewhere if you have a more complex problem.

That elsewhere is in form of a website where you have to sort through videos and articles.

Yes, you can raise a claim right inside the seller center, but it takes hours or even days before you hear back from them.

c. Delivery Issues

Finally, one of the biggest challenges of selling on Jumia is the potential delivery issues. 

With third-party logistics companies handling the delivery of your products, it can be difficult to track your shipments and ensure that deliveries are made promptly.

Also, delivery issues can lead to customer dissatisfaction, negatively impacting your business.

Despite these challenges, selling on Jumia can be a great way to grow your business and make money online. 

The key to success is to do your research and plan ahead. That way, you can make the most of the platform and avoid potential problems.

5. Tips for Maximizing Your Profits Selling on Jumia 

Here are four tips to help you maximize your profits with Jumia Dropshipping:

a. Monitor Your Profitability

The first step is to monitor your profit margin. 

This involves understanding the cost of each product, the amount of time it takes to fulfill orders, and the associated shipping costs. 

Keeping close tabs on your profits will help you make better decisions and ensure that your business is running at its most profitable.

Considering anyone can start dropshipping on Jumia, your competitive advantage comes down to your price.

Be sure you are offering the best price for the product, which should enable you to make sell more and make more money.

b. Utilize Jumia’s In-Built Advertising System

Jumia provides an effective advertising tool. Here’s how it works:

You are simply boosting the visibility of your products by making them appear on top of pages.

See the screenshot below.

So, these sellers have paid Jumia for their products to appear first whenever someone searches for Apple products on Jumia.

You can tell that from the ‘sponsored’ tag next to each product.

How will you pay?

Well, Jumia charges per number of impressions, which is to say, you pay per number of people who’ve viewed your products. And you can use this from as low as Ksh 1500.

Utilizing these tools can help increase visibility and drive customers to your store. 

c. Test Your Pricing Strategies

Selling on Jumia provides you with the ability to test your pricing strategies. This helps you to determine which pricing strategies are most successful and profitable. 

For example, you can test different prices for different items to see which ones generate the most sales. 

Related: 17 Business Opportunities for Youth in Kenya (That Works)

d. Monitor Your Competitors

Finally, monitoring your competitors’ pricing strategies and product offerings is important. 

Knowing what your competitors are doing allows you to adjust your pricing strategies accordingly to stay competitive. 

Additionally, you can also keep an eye on other online marketplaces to watch for new product offerings and pricing trends.

You can maximize your profits with Jumia Dropshipping by following these four tips. 

With the right strategies in place, you can quickly and easily increase your profits and grow your business. So get started today and start selling with Jumia Dropshipping!

Related: 7 Best Online Businesses To Start With No Money In Kenya.

Jumia Dropshipping FAQs

All that is required is setting up a seller account and listing your products on https://www.jumia.ug/. Once someone purchases one of your items, pick the item and drop it at Jumia VDOs. From there, it will be shipped directly from Jumia VDO to the customer– eliminating the need for warehousing or managing stock levels. Creating a seller account on Jumia Uganda is easy. You must sign up with basic information, such as contact details and bank account information. Afterward, you can start listing products.

Absolutely! Dropshipping is a great way to start an online business from anywhere. Nigeria has plenty of potential for dropshipping success – you need a reliable supplier and a good marketing strategy.

Yes, you can sell on Jumia from the USA! This online retailing giant is making waves worldwide, and now American entrepreneurs can join in. Jumia allows international sellers to list their items for sale and reach a larger audience. It’s an exciting opportunity for those who want to grow their business.

Starting a dropshipping business in Kenya can be a great way to make money. The amount of money you need to get started will vary depending on what you are selling. Generally speaking, you will need to invest in a domain name, hosting, store setup, marketing, and product sourcing. You may also need to spend money on shipping and other related expenses. All in all, you should plan to have around Ksh.30,000 to get your business up and running. With a little hard work, you can return this investment in time! But this all changes if you use Jumia. You can start with less than that amount.

Jumia is an online marketplace that allows people to buy and sell various items. However, certain items cannot be sold on Jumia. These include weapons, explosives, hazardous materials, stolen goods, counterfeit items, alcohol, tobacco products, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. Additionally, Jumia does not allow the sale of any item that violates copyright or trademark laws. Furthermore, any illegal item in the country where it is being sold is also prohibited from being sold on Jumia. Finally, Jumia does not permit the sale of any item that could potentially cause harm to its customers or their property. All sellers must adhere to these rules to comply with Jumia’s policies.

You can find anything from electronics, fashion, home appliances, books, and more. With Jumia, you can easily set up your own store and sell whatever you want. Whether you’re looking to sell new or used items, Jumia has something for everyone. You can also list services such as tutoring or web design on the platform. Additionally, Jumia is a great place to showcase your items and reach potential customers if you have a business that sells physical products like clothing or jewelry. With its easy-to-use interface and secure payment system, Jumia makes it simple to start selling online quickly and safely.