In partnership with the Ivorian Ministry of Education, African ecommerce company Jumia has recently announced that it will be launching a campaign that will distribute free school kits to students in disadvantaged neighbourhoods of Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
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Founder and CEO of Jumia, Fatoumata Ba, says that she wants this initiative to highlight the importance of access to education for young people in the Ivory Coast. She also added:
“As new technologies emerge in Ivory Coast, the situation is evolving rapidly: it is therefore essential for children to be aware of this change as early as possible so that they can adapt to it, and there is no better way to do this than through education.”
Jumia has launched its Ivory Coast chapter in earlier this year with the hope of bringing online shopping to the country’s near 1-million internet users. In July, the company also opened up its online marketplace, which aims to give third-party merchants a storefront in the cloud.
The kits, prepared by La Librairie de France, comprise of a backpack containing plastic sleeves, exercise books, a pencil, an eraser, pens, a slate and chalk. All pupils will also receive a free t-shirt.
The Jumia team travels with a “Jumia Trailer” in order to distribute 1 000 kits in four primary schools.
Bakary Ouattara, deputy director for school kits and textbooks in the National Ministry for Education and Technical Education, highlights the effects this donation will have on the online shopping company’s presence in the Ivory Coast.
“With this major donation, Jumia is demonstrating its engagement to help the children of the Ivory Coast and its clear desire for qualitative improvement in education in our country. This donation fits in with the political vision of the Ivorian government between now and 2020.”
