Rinchi
TechInAfrica – A basketball player and tech industry investor, Andre Iguodala has joined the board of directors at one of the largest African e-commerce startups, Jumia. For the record, Iguodala has invested in Walker’s Walker & Company, Facebook, Twitter, and Tesla, among many others.
As an American with African roots, hd finds the opportunity of joining the team is important, especially it’s Jumia, the e-commerce that’s on the forefront of e-commerce space on the continent.
Before serving at Jumia, Iguodala has served on the board of directors at an online clothing resale store (currently sold by eBay), Twice. At Jumia, his responsibility is at hiring, attracting and ensuring African talents to have their proportion on the company.
He said, “We’re having conversations about diversity and making sure the African culture is in the company, and Sacha (Jumia’s CEO, a French) is doing a great job with that. I want to make sure we’re hiring from within and making sure the people we’re affecting and helping are involved with the company as far as hires go.”
Furthermore, he is also responsible for brainstorming new business opportunities for Jumia. For instance, as he has suggested to Poignonnec, he sees a possibility for Jumia to expand into brick and mortal as what Amazon has done.
Iguodala is still exploring some additional opportunities in Africa’s tech sphere. However, he said that he currently will only focus on Jumia and not want to rush out to seek other potential startups for the time being.a
