Jumia Kenya has dismissed its Chief Executive Officer Betty Mwangi, who had headed the leading e-commerce platform for only nine months.

Betty was immediately replaced with Juan Seco, in a decision announced by the company in a statement released on Thursday that did not give reasons for the action.

The Jumia statement sent to our newsroom only says Seco takes over the mantle from Betty, who left to pursue “another big impact opportunity that has presented itself”.

Betty Mwangi.

However, an investigation by Swala Nyeti has established that investors decided to dismiss and replace Betty due to “struggling numbers” during her eight-month stint.

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Sources revealed that the powerful Jumia board of management also had issues with her failure to fit in with the Jumia “culture” and opted to cut her loose to try and turn the tides.

Betty Mwangi.

She was appointed the Jumia CEO in November 2021, taking over from the long-serving Sam Chappate after working as Britam Group Commercial Director from 2016.

Prior to that Betty, an engineer with 20 years of experience in telecommunications, insurance, and pharmaceutical sectors, served as the Director of Financial Services at Safaricom MPESA, where she worked from its inception in 2007.

Sam Chappate. 

Juan joined Jumia Kenya in 2015 as Chief Financial Officer and became part of the JumiaPay founding team in 2017, as Chief Operating Officer overseeing the expansion and deployment of JumiaPay across Jumia markets.

In 2019, he was named Senior Vice President of Consumer Financial Services leading fintech initiatives and the JumiaPay App, which is now available in eight countries.