Orange to invest in Africa Internet Group

French telecommunication giants, Orange, has announced the acquisition of a 75 million-euro equity interest in Africa Internet Group (AIG), owners of e-commerce platforms such as Jumia, Lamudi, Jovago and  food delivery app, HelloFood.

AIG was formed in 2012 in Nigeria and currently operates in about 23 African countries. It currently has AXA, Goldman Sachs, MTN Group, Millicom and Rocket Internet as investors.

Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara, founders and co-CEOs of Africa Internet Group say the new investment would further enhance its expertise and improve its service delivery.

“With Orange’s support and expertise, combined with that of our existing long-standing shareholders, we will be able to further improve our service offerings and the customer experience while continuing to invest in our infrastructure” Poignonnec and Hodara said in a joint statement with Orange on Tuesday.

The investment in AIG came after Orange announced its plan to expand its interests in Africa and other regions.

“With this strategic investment, Orange now has the capacity to play a leading role in the fast-growing e-commerce market in Africa,” Stéphane Richard, chairman and CEO of Orange, said in the joint statement.

“This investment will enable us to significantly develop our ability to market products and services developed by Orange Middle East and Africa over the Internet,” he added.

AIG also owns platforms such as e-commerce marketplace, Kaymu, as well as online classified ads sites for general merchandise, (Vendito) real estate Lamudi), jobs (Everjobs) and vehicles (Carmudi).