Jumia appoints Uganda's Vinod Goel as EAC regional CEO, to drive growth and synergy

Jumia has appointed Vinod Goel, as its East Africa Regional Chief Executive Officer. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Jumia has appointed Vinod Goel, as its East Africa Regional Chief Executive Officer.

Vinod who takes over the mantle from Charles Ballard for Kenya business will manage both Kenya and Uganda as direct CEO as the firm seeks to expand growth and synergise the two EAC markets.

According to the firm, Jumia Kenya is entering a growth phase and needs leadership that can accelerate growth while generating a sustainable profitable business.

During his tenure as Jumia Uganda CEO, Vinod turned the business around, both in terms of significant top-line growth and achieving sharp unit economics.

In a statement, Jumia said it is confident that Vinod has the drive and the skillset to achieve these ambitions in line with its strategy of developing senior CEOs in key regional markets.

The strategy it said has worked well in West Africa where Jumia can generate significant synergies among countries in the same region.

“I'm deeply honored and excited to lead Jumia’s operations in Kenya and Uganda during this exciting phase of growth. Our commitment to delivering an innovative, convenient, and affordable online shopping experience remains unwavering,” said Vinod.

He said he remains dedicated to fostering more brand partnerships with both local and global companies.

“We are witnessing huge interest from global brands such as Starlink, to be their sole partner and new brands to launch their products overnight in the whole country. We will also support brands to launch and expand in other Jumia markets to make them truly Pan-African brands starting with Kenya and Uganda," said Vinod.

 Vinod started with Jumia in 2020 as Head of Global Fulfillment Operations, overseeing operations across all Jumia markets.

“He played a pivotal role in making Jumia shipping faster, cheaper and double the size in one and a half years before he became the Chief Executive Officer overseeing the expansion and deployment of Jumia Uganda where he successfully turned the business around in 2022,” the statement read.

Before Jumia, Vinod worked in Strategy, Finance and Supply Chain with Lafarge Group, a French conglomerate, and was based in Europe, Asia and Africa.

He has also worked as a software engineer in India earlier in his professional career. Vinod earned a B.S. in Engineering and also holds a dual MBA degree from MDI Gurgaon in India and ESCP Europe in London.