The two Chief Executive Officers of Jumia Group, Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poignonnec will be taking a salary cut to support their workers amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. The pay cut is part of a series of actions taken by Jumia to support the fight against COVID-19.
The company said both Hodara and Poignonnec would see their salary cut by 25%, while Jumia will create a solidarity fund for workers involved in transportation of essential services. The solidarity fund target employees in the warehouses and delivery hubs.
In a statement, Jumia said its other employees are expected to make a donation, but voluntarily. The company will also be leveraging on its Chinese logistics network to donate 500,000 CE-certified face masks to health ministries in Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya and Morocco, among others, for use by health workers.
Coronavirus has become a global outbreak with over 1.1 million confirmed cases recorded, while the virus has killed over 59,203 people as at last count.
In Nigeria, COVID-19 confirmed cases is now 210, while discharged persons have reached 25, with four death recorded.
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While acknowledging the health situation being experienced globally and addressing Jumia’s effort during this outbreak, the CEOs said, “The last few weeks have been unprecedented, with the COVID-19 crisis affecting the lives and livelihoods of millions of people.
“We have taken major actions for our team, consumers, partners and communities. These are also times of great solidarity at Jumia. We will come out of this strong both as a team and as a company,” Hodara and Poignonnec said.
“We have given visibility to key health instructions on our platforms. We collaborated with ministries of health in Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco and South Africa to use our online platform to share and amplify the reach of much needed important health messages,” the e-commerce company said.
Jumia had also supported first responders and health workers in Morocco and Tunisia with delivered free meals. Meanwhile, the company said access to affordable basic foods and sanitary essentials has been increased and it has waived commission on some sanitary products which now sell at a low price. Also, the company disclosed that it is fighting price gouging on its platform.