Juliet Anammah, chief executive officer of Jumia Nigeria, believes local entrepreneurs and consumers will be the biggest beneficiaries of the Black Friday campaigns and the Jumia platform adds value because all products listed are data-driven.

Anammah referenced the McKinsey Lion Go Digital Report which stated that online shopping could account for up to 10% of retail sales in Africa (with a value of around US$75-billion) by 2025, as more Africans gain access to the internet.

"Campaigns such as Black Friday will contribute significantly to driving e-commerce adoption," she said, adding that Jumia Nigeria plans Black Friday campaigns six months ahead of time.

"We engage in consumer focus groups and multiple workshops with consumers to understand some of the things they want to buy on Jumia. So, it starts with the consumers first. We share the data we obtain with our sellers to influence the kind of products they should list on our platform during special campaigns like Black Friday and at a price that is convenient for both parties," she stated.

Although Jumia introduced the Black Friday campaign to Nigerians in 2014, two years after it established its presence in the country, consumers respond to the campaign has been tremendous.

"Consumers response to Black Friday has been tremendous since we introduced the shopping event to Nigerians in 2014. Year on year, we've seen it grow. Nigerians are very responsive to campaigns like these. It's really about bringing the best of deals from our sellers and brand owners to the consumers. And they respond quite positively. Black Friday is a time when consumers are looking for deals; they want to get the best prices on anything that they want' she noted.

Anammah emphasized that the company sources exclusive deals and communicates those deals well ahead of time and "that somehow influences what people are searching for".

"What people search for is triggered by the exclusive deals we have, treasure hunts and flash sales. People are searching for phones, appliances, TVs, many brands such as Reckitt Benckiser, Binatone, HP, Scanfrost among others," she concluded.

Nexus, UKA, HP, Microsoft, Samsung, and Binatone are among the top leading global brands partnering with Jumia for the campaign this year.