Like many companies, Jumia quickly recognized the benefits of integrating AI into our ecosystem - boosting efficiency, increasing automation, and exploring new, smarter ways of working.
The goal? Freeing people to focus on creativity, innovation, and strategic advancements, while AI enhances our systems, business, and processes.
Our journey began in 2024, with an initial focus on fast adoption of plug-and-play AI tools. These allowed us to achieve quick wins—low-cost, high-ROI MVPs that optimized multiple departments by automating repetitive, time-consuming tasks, allowing humans to focus on creative and innovative needs, exploring new capabilities for our systems, business, and processes.
Of course, this journey required more than just experimentation. Governance became a key pillar after the initial R&D phase. We established policies for data, access, and responsible AI usage. We also formed cross-functional committees - bringing together Technology, HR, Security, Engineering, and other teams—to ensure we made solid, strategic decisions, rather than blindly following AI trends that could introduce risks in the short or medium term.
The next phase was all about embedding AI directly into Jumia’s platforms. We moved from isolated tools to either automation scripts or native integrations across our business and operating lines—covering use cases in Engineering, Logistics, Marketing, Finance, Compliance, Commercial, HR, and more.
One of the most important shifts was mindset. We started treating AI not as an optional tool, but as a necessary consideration in every new project. This approach significantly increases adoption, ensuring AI becomes an integral part of our operations.
All these steps have positioned us well in AI adoption within Jumia, with:
More than 150 AI tools, ranging from R&D phases to full production deployment.
Over 100 custom AI assistants (chatbots or native integrations), with datasets, prompting, and individual configurations/parameterization for each use case.
Powered by more than 10 LLMs, enabling not only the expected optimization and benefits but also creating new opportunities—and the cycle continues…
The journey is interesting, motivating, and above all, promising…
Fun fact on our latest experiment? An AI-powered townhall for ~300 attendees!
With multiple projects happening in parallel, we had very little time to prepare—but we embraced smart laziness and let AI do the heavy lifting.
Here’s how it worked:
We compiled raw topic notes into a simple text document.
AI generated full presentation slides using Jumia’s branded template.
From those slides, AI created detailed speaker notes.
And finally… we used AI to generate the voice of our new virtual team member, “Maria Adam” (yes, AI even suggested the name!).
Maria Adam delivered the entire presentation aloud, synced with the slides—cracking a few jokes along the way!
The result? A fully AI-powered presentation that was engaging, efficient, and a big hit with the audience.
Our AI journey has been exciting, rewarding, and—most importantly—full of potential. And this is just the beginning.
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João Falcão
VP Technology, Jumia
João Falcão joined Jumia in 2012 starting in the engineering department. Over the years, João has ascended through various leadership roles, including Team Leading, Release Manager, Head of Development, Director of Engineering Excellence, and now as VP Technology. In his current role, he has also taken on significant responsibilities in Compliance and Audit over IT, ensuring that Jumia's technological initiatives meet the highest standards of excellence and regulatory requirements.
Before Jumia, João amassed extensive professional experience, spanning over 15 years, primarily in the software healthcare industry and other software engineering sectors. His early career was marked by his contributions to the development and implementation of innovative software solutions as he participated in research projects, collaborating with several universities in Portugal to advance the field of software engineering.
Academically, João is an accomplished Informatics Engineer, having graduated in 2011 in Porto, Portugal. His academic background has provided a foundation for his professional achievements, allowing him to seamlessly integrate technical expertise with leadership.
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