Newly appointed Managing Director for online retailer Jumia's operations in Kenya Sam Chappatte has committed to growing the company's number of customers in that East African country.

Chappatte says his main priority is to improve customer experience, as well as recruit and develop Kenya's top talent.

"We strongly believe that this is the beginning for e-commerce in Kenya. Kenyan consumers are increasingly connected, increasingly want peace of mind on the quality of products they purchase and therefore increasingly embracing e-commerce. Jumia has as a strong base in Kenya, but we have work to do in bringing new products to our customers and significantly improving their experience. I'm very lucky to have a great team to work alongside in the coming years to make this happen!" says Chappatte.

Before taking on his new responsibility, Chappatte oversaw Jumia's operations in Ghana, Uganda, Cameroon, Tanzania, Senegal and Algeria as manager of new countries at the online retailer whose parent company Africa Internet Group (AIG) was recently valued at more than US$1-billion.

The valuation made AIG the first company in Africa to join a list of global private startups valued at $1bn or more, according to venture capital and angel investment database CBInsights.

Jumia's outgoing MD Parinaz Firozi, who served in the position since 2014, has shared his view on the company's future in Kenya.

"It has been a hugely rewarding and exciting part of my life. It has taken a lot of energy, learning and enthusiasm to grow Jumia to where it is today, with incredible support from our customers and employees. I feel it's a good time to handover to Sam, who will lead the company to its bright future."

Need for improvement

Analysis of Africa's B2C e-Commerce Market in 2016, undertaken by research body Research and Markets late last month, has revealed that online shopping on the continent is in need of improvement, particularly with regards to payments and delivery.

The report has identified delivery infrastructure and secure payment methods as the two main barriers to wider acceptance of B2C e-Commerce in Africa.

"Several countries lack even an organised physical address system, and cash on delivery is the main payment method that the developing local online merchants, Takealot, Jumia and Konga among them, must deal with," reads an excerpt from the report.

The research also shows that convenience is one of the enticements for buying online in Nigeria and Kenya, despite few Internet users in Africa actually having made an online purchase.

The growth of Africa's internet penetration rates over the past five years have made a positive impact, although they remain comparatively lower to global counterparts.