Jumia has announced the appointment of Charles Ballard as its Kenyan unit Chief Executive Officer(CEO).

The new CEO tackles over from Juna Seco, who has served in the position for eight years. The former is headed to the Pan-Acfrican Fintech space.

Ballard expressed his commitment to continue driving the e-commerce narrative in rural Kenya, where more than 70% of the population lives.

“Access to Modern Retail is a challenge in these areas, which is a great opportunity to grow our online marketplace. E-commerce can bring better prices, more choices, and convenience to the rural Kenyans,” he added.

The new CEO first joined the E-Commerce platform in 2019 as the Head of Performance and Planning.

He was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2021, where he is responsible for the country's e-commerce activities' deployment and expansion.

He was then appointed Senior Vice President, Commercials in 2022.

Ballard has had a distinguished career spanned the NGO and retail ecosystems.

In the past, Ballard held positions as the deputy chief financial officer at ACTED (an international humanitarian NGO) from 2012 to 2015 and as a retail consultant at Sagaci Research in Kenya from 2015 to 2019.