SA travel company Travelstart takes over operations of Jumia Travel

SA travel tech company Travelstart has entered into a distribution and commercial agreement with Jumia Travel to run the latter’s pan-African online travel booking portal.

Under the agreement, which was announced yesterday, Travelstart will take control of the sales, fulfilment and customer service aspects of Jumia Travel online booking websites in all its operating territories.

Jumia Travel operates in several African countries where it counts Kenya and Nigeria as its largest markets.

In a statement yesterday Joe Falter, EVP Jumia On-Demand Services, said while Jumia will continue to promote the travel category, Travelstart will be responsible for the operational side of the business.

Jumia will continue to promote the travel category, while Travelstart will be responsible for the operational side of the business

“This partnership will ensure we remain hyper-focused on our growth and path to profitability as we reinvest our resources in our key markets, services and technology to create the best customer experience in Africa and allow Jumia to thrive,” added Falter.

Travelstart, which operates in nine African countries, said it will use the partnership to tap new customers in markets where digital is emerging.

Travelstart was founded in Sweden by Swedish born Stephan Ekbergh (pictured above) in 1999 before setting up in South Africa in 2006.

Ekbergh in the same statement said: “Twelve thousand customers travel with us daily. Being Jumia’s exclusive distribution partner will help even more travellers in Africa unlock high quality online travel services.”

The latest news follows the competition by Travelstart in October of its acquisition of Southern Africa’s Club Travel Group for an undisclosed sum (see this story).

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Featured image: Travelstart founder and CEO Stephan Ekberg (Supplied)