Online classifieds investor Frontier Digital Ventures has bought three property portals from e-commerce giant Jumia, which it will merge with its portfolio businesses in Africa.
Frontier Digital Ventures has invested in a number of African classifieds startups over the last couple of years, including Mozambique’s CasaMozambique, Ghana’s MeQasa, Tanzania’s Kupatana, Nigeria’s ToLet.com.ng and Morocco’s Moteur. It exited its investment in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)-based online property portal IMCongo last month.
The company has now traded its Afribaba portal plus $US500,000 for Jumia House platforms in Angola, Ghana and Nigeria. Jumia House Angola will be merged with Angocasa, Jumia House Ghana with MeQasa, and Jumia House Nigeria with ToLet.com.ng.
“This transaction was a rare opportunity in the online classifieds space. The ultimate result for Frontier shareholders is that we have exited Afribaba and created three new market leaders in property verticals across three key African markets. It demonstrates the strength of our entrepreneur-led online classifieds model,” said Frontier founder Shaun Di Gregorio in a note to investors.
Angocasa chief executive officer (CEO) Kenneth Hogrefe said in a press release the acquisition of Jumia House Angola placed Angocasa at the forefront to better serve the growing real estate market in the country.
“Our combined assets facilitate the transformation of the online property sector for the benefit of property developers, real estate agents and property seekers alike,” he said.
“Once the acquisition is finalised, we will the destination for both property buyers and renters to find their new dream home, and for real estate agents and developers to advertise their properties online.”
In a press release, MeQasa co-founder Kelvin Nyame expressed almost exactly the same sentiments.
“Our combined businesses will have the scale and resources to transform the way Ghanaians buy and sell property. With the acquisition, we will be the go-to destination for property buyers, renters, for real estate agents, and alike,” he said.
