Jumia has announced Charles Ballard as the new CEO of Jumia Kenya, effective in March.

Charles takes over the mantle from Juan Seco who left after eight years to join a pan-African player in the FinTech space.

“I am excited to continue driving the e-commerce narrative in rural Kenya where more than 70 percent of the population lives. Access to Modern Retail is a challenge in these areas, which is a great opportunity to grow our online marketplace. E-commerce can bring better prices, more choices, and convenience to the rural Kenyans,” Ballard said.

He has been with Jumia Kenya since 2019 when he joined as Head of Performance and Planning.

In 2021 he became the Chief Operating Officer overseeing the expansion and deployment of Jumia activities in Kenya while in 2022, he was named Senior Vice President—Commercials.

Before joining Jumia, Charles worked as a Retail consultant at Sagaci Research in Kenya from 2015 to 2019, and before as Deputy CFO at ACTED (international humanitarian NGO) from 2012 to 2015.

The e-commerce firm says he is a perfect example of the breadth and depth of the career paths that Jumia has to offer, and we plan to grow an even stronger team to pursue the work we have started.

He will also continue to be intensely involved with Customer Experience initiatives at the core of our business.

By Jane Kibathi