Since I’ve worked in Africa I’ve had the opportunity to lead strategic partnerships teams. I led the first integration of a bank into JUMO’s savings and loans platform, effectively kicking off our pivot into a marketplace. After that, I led the strategic partnership initiative with our partner MTN Zambia, where I launched the second bank integration at Jumo with Barclays, and then launched a digital savings product with Barclays and MTN. To be honest, while I was good at the job, I don’t really like the job. I far prefer working on products, which includes an element of strategic partnerships.
The importance of strategic partnerships in Africa can’t be understated. In my opinion, it’s the *best* way for any business to quickly and reliably acquire customers. Setting up your own channels in Africa is extremely expensive. Africa is not one market, so that means you need to tailor your channels in multiple different. By leveraging existing businesses in markets, you can acquire customers, meet regulation requirements, and scale faster than trying it yourself. This comes with the obvious tradeoffs of any partnership, including less control, partnership risk, and reduced profitability. But that’s why you hire good partnership managers.
An example of a recent strategic partnership is the announcement of Mastercard’s investment in Jumia, an
We are delighted to strengthen our existing partnership with MasterCard, and consolidate Jumia’s position as the leading e-commerce platform in Africa. This investment highlights the strategic synergies between the two companies, as we both seek to develop the payments ecosystem and drive financial inclusion across Africa.
This is all about merchant acquisition for Mastercard. The SME space in Africa is growing quickly, and Visa and Mastercard are facing off against each other and the new mobile money companies. It’s a fierce space, and Mastercard is reaching into it’s