The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Jumia Travel

  • Investors are happy with achievements of Jumia – Dutta

    Investors are happy with achievements of Jumia – Dutta

    Kushal Dutta, the managing director of Jumia Travel, the hotel and flight booking platform within the Jumia ecosystem, has said that investors in the company’s ventures are happy with the achievements of all the companies under the Jumia brand name.

    Dutta made the disclosure while responding to a question on the status of the company’s profitability at a joint press conference held recently in Lagos to mark its 5 years anniversary in Nigeria.

    “We pioneered e-commerce business in Nigeria with the launch of Jumia Mall, and some months after that we launched other businesses which are now leaders in their respective industries. For instance, we launched Jovago, Hello Food, Carmudi, Lamudi, Kaymu; each of these companies was later re-branded to Jumia Travel (Jovago), Jumia Food (Hello Food), Jumia Classified (Carmudi & Lamudi), and Jumia Market (Kaymu). The success of these ventures has earned us the confidence of our investors, and they are super happy with us,” Dutta said.

    Corroborating Dutta’s remark, the managing director of Jumia Mall, Juliet Anammah said the milestones achieved within each venture were not without some challenges. She highlighted rising cost of doing business in Nigeria, poor infrastructure and security as some of the major challenges. “Despite all of these” she said, “we have been able to rise above them and establish ourselves as leaders in our respective industries.

    As part of the activities planned for the anniversary, Anammah hinted that each venture will be offering some amazing deals to its customers to reward them for their loyalty. Communication materials such as a theme song for the anniversary, a 30-second radio jingle, a one-minute TVC highlighting the company’s journey so far, and some competitions on social media will be launched on Monday July 3, 2017 to kick off the anniversary.

    Jumia aims at creating a connected digital Africa to improve people’s lives on the continent, thanks to the Internet. Therefore, Jumia’s mission is to connect African consumers and entrepreneurs to do better business together. Jumia has been creating a sustainable ecosystem of digital services and infrastructures through online and mobile marketplaces and classifieds to expand your horizons.

    Founded in 2012, with a presence all over Africa, the group has Jumia Mall, Jumia Travel, Jumia Market, Jumia Food, Jumia House, Jumia Deals, Jumia Cars, Jumia Jobs and Jumia Services within its ecosystem.

  • Seven ways to build a stronger Linkedin profile

    Seven ways to build a stronger Linkedin profile

    Due to the fact that a large number of recruiters are now on LinkedIn, it is important to understand how to properly utilize the site’s resources to help put your best foot forward to these recruiters. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 7 ways to build a strong LinkedIn profile.

    Your Picture

    This goes without saying. To build a strong LinkedIn profile, you need a smart and professional looking picture of yourself. You need a profile picture that presents you in the best professional light and that will allow people easily recognize you. A good picture helps to instill a sense of trust or engagement, especially in the minds of headhunters who browse LinkedIn profiles looking for suitable candidates.

    Your Headline

    You need a good headline to build a strong LinkedIn. Maximize the characters of headline and use them to describe briefly and clearly what you do and who you serve. Try not to just name your job title. For example, rather than just writing ‘Business Development Manager at DIY Corp’, you can write, ‘Business Development Manager at DIY Corp: Essentially identifying and exploiting new business opportunities to bring in revenue’.

    Your Summary

    The LinkedIn algorithm searches for keywords here, so filling this section with information you know your target audience will be looking for can help strengthen your profile. In your summary, be sure to put in keywords or terms that match those that job seekers and business owners in the industry you aim to work in are looking for. This helps to increase your visibility. Also, try to quantify your achievements with percentages and numbers that are safe for external use. For example, ‘I was able to increase business by 80% or by over 5 times what it was before my arrival’ etc. You can also add some media, like video, pictures, scans or screenshots that gives credence to your claims about who you say you are and what you say you can do.

    Your Experience

    Aside the experience from your resume, try to share some relevant media to add credence to your claims (like videos, images, presentations or even articles and article links that you have written or that quote you). Adding some media to your profile, even if it’s one or two, makes your profile more attractive and encourages potential viewers of your profile to stay a little while longer on your page, which can ultimately be good for you.

    Your Endorsements

    Try to get endorsement from your connections for the skills you claim you have. However, be sure not to overdo it with this one. Delete endorsements for skills you don’t have and avoid putting up skills you don’t have in the first place. Reorder your endorsements so the most relevant comes before the least relevant. Try to build up your endorsement numbers for your most important skills by endorsing the skills of others (who will often endorse yours back) and by sending messages to friends, family and other connections to help endorse your skills.

    Your Contact Information

    Be sure your contact information is up-to-date to make it easier for you to be reached. If you don’t want to use your private numbers, be sure to at least use an active email address that you can be reached through.

    Your Updates

    Be sure to regularly update your LinkedIn profile with industry news, accomplishments, job changes etc. This can help to increase your visibility and give your network an opportunity to engage with you.

     

  • Five helpful tips for juggling work and parenting

    Five helpful tips for juggling work and parenting

    Juggling work and parenting might not exactly be the easiest thing to do, but there are a couple of things you can do to make it easier. Jumia Travel [1], the leading online travel agency, shares 5 tips for juggling work and parenting.

    INVOLVE YOUR SPOUSE
    Involving your spouse can be a great way to ease juggling work and parenting. If you don’t have a spouse, involve trusted close friend(s) or relative(s) who is (are) willing to be there for you. The fact is you can’t successfully juggle work and parenting on your own. You can communicate with these people and hash out the details of who’s going to do what and when, and then agree on it. Communication and a willingness to sacrifice and compromise are vital in making this work.

    GET GREAT CHILDCARE
    good and reliable childcare is better than a thousand gold bars when you’re trying to juggle work and parenting. You thus have to do your research very well and find good daycare centers and nannies that you can trust to help look after your child in your absence. However, you should be sure to keep a watchful eye on them to be sure they are taking care of your child or children in the best possible way.

    PUT THINGS IN PROPER PERSPECTIVE
    when managing work and parenting, you need to be able to put things in proper perspective. You should cut yourself some slack and try not to feel bad about having to leave your child or children all the time because in the end you are working to provide a better, easier and more comfortable life for your child or children. At this same time, you shouldn’t get carried away and use this as an excuse to be negligent. You must learn to balance the two sides and manage it as well as you  can. Be away when you need to be, but be prepared to make sacrifices and compromises to be as present in your child’s life as possible. Make the effort.
    LEARN TO MANAGE YOUR COMMITMENTS
    When you’re at work, you’re at work. Be focused on completing your work and doing it to the best of your ability. When you’re at home, be at home and be focused on being the best parent ever to your child. Don’t bring home your baggage or issues from work to and dump it on your children to deal with. Even if you can’t help but bring home your issues from work, never do it in a way that affects your children. Whenever you’re with your children, be committed to being with them, and let nothing else come in between. Manage your commitments.

    KNOW YOUR PRIORITIES
    You need to determine what comes first to you, your work or your children. When you know this, it will be easier for you to make decisions when the two ‘worlds’ occasionally clash. Know what’s most important to you, and let that guide your decisions during such tight periods. You don’t have to be with your child every minute for them to feel loved, but you need to know those few minutes that being with them matters most.

    REMEMBER YOURSELF
    A sick, exhausted or drained person can hardly be useful at the workplace and to their child or children. You, therefore, have to remember to take some time to rest and take care of yourself. This way you can continue to be there for your child or children and be productive at work.

     

  • Four things nobody tells you about blogging

    Four things nobody tells you about blogging

    A lot of people don’t recognize and hardly understand the intricacies of blogging. Some go as far as dismissing it as some kind of hobby, rather than recognizing it as the business it is. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 4 things nobody tells you about blogging.

    Blogging is Not Some Get Rich Quick Scheme

    It’s nice to hear about blogs that charge thousands and hundreds of thousands for publicity or adverts of any kind. But what most people don’t get is that blogging is hard and it takes a lot of time and patience to be read widely enough to get noticed by firms, corporations and companies for publicity and advertisements. Most of the widely read blogs today took months, even years of consistent and tireless effort to get to where they are today and have the kind of recognition they have. Blogging is hardly a get rich quick scheme.

    Blogging is Not That Easy

    There is a general belief that running a blog is what you do when you either don’t have a job or don’t have anything better to do. Many believe it’s easy and requires little or no effort. That’s inaccurate. Aside having to constantly come up with interesting and engaging content for your blog (almost every hour of the day if yours is a news blog), you also have to consider the mails, questions and comments that you  always have to attend to, to help drive engagement on your blog. Eventually, as your blog grows, you’ll realize it’s hardly something you can do on your own.

    A Blogger is Not Only a Blogger

    As a blogger, especially when starting out, in order to grow your readership you are going to feel the need to be a web designer (trying to find the right web layout that will be attractive and user friendly), a social media strategist (ensuring you use social media to get as much publicity for your blog as you can), an SEO specialist, a web marketing guru and an amateur photographer all at the same time! It’s a lot. You might not exactly be a professional in all the above mentioned areas, but you have to be able to handle them well enough not to suck at it and to help grow your blog’s readership.

    The Business Side

    Many people tend to underestimate or don’t understand the business side of blogging. They either start demanding for money too soon or are completely clueless about how sponsored content works around the policies of the corresponding firms, corporations and companies. A good number of people don’t realize that some brands or companies have payment terms of ninety days; meaning even after doing publicity for them, you might not get your payment until after three months. Some brands also have you working on sponsored content and you will have to send them draft upon draft till they like what they see. Since you’ve likely already signed a contract with them, you really don’t have much of choice. It is important to recognize the business side of blogging and try to understand it before going into it.

     

  • Six things you’ll learn after driving an Audi for a week

    Six things you’ll learn after driving an Audi for a week

    An Audi is a fashionable and beautiful German car with one of the biggest and most varied model line-ups of any car brand, with almost anything you can ask for or dream of in car. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 6 things you’ll learn after driving an Audi for a week.

    It’s Attractive (but not outrageously so)

    Especially for those who want to be classy without being too ostentatious, an Audi is one of the best choices. An Audi has a relatively modest outlook and conservative design that has over time garnered a broad appeal. It has what can best be described as an appealing ‘style-by-stealth’ approach to its design that is certainly working for consumers.

    It’s Like Sitting in Your Living Room

    Audi has, over the years, acquired a reputation for designing some of the best car interiors in the world. The interior is always well laid out with intuitive controls, and is filled with the best materials that have a functional and user-friendly design to maximize comfort. With the amount of time we spend in cars (especially because of the heavy traffic in the country), riding in an Audi prepares you for a comfortable experience indeed.

    Cutting Edge Technology

    Audi is one of the car brands that is always at the cutting edge of in-car technology, with an MMI infotainment system that’s among the best available. Its tech is also easy to understand and use, and it’s packed full of interesting features to explore.

    Variety

    This car brand boasts of one of the biggest and most varied model line-ups of any car brand, with virtually everything from any type of consumer. It’s a car brand that has built a car for almost any type of consumer. From supermini cars to SUVs to supercars, there’s something for everyone. Just decide on which of their line-ups you prefer, and after driving it for a week, you’ll very likely find it’ll suit you just right.

    Brilliant Engine

    Audi cars generally have a strong engine and transmission, that’s not too noisy with a very good throttle response. The car is able to tune out a significant amount of mechanical ‘music’ and has a great (even addictive) acceleration. However, be sure to stay within legal speed limits because careless speeding kills and can really wreck your sweet ride.

    You’ll Fall in Love

    If you’re not already in love with Audi cars, you’ll definitely fall head over heels for it after driving it for a week. Aside its strong body-shell that gives impressive protection from the occasional careless driver that collides with your car, the car is classy and elegant enough to draw quite a number of admirable looks (and/or stares) here and there. It’s also what can be called a solid car and you’re very likely to enjoy driving it, as long as you drive it responsibly, take care of it well and have a good mechanic to service and maintain it for you.

     

  • Five social media mistakes most likely to cost you a job

    Five social media mistakes most likely to cost you a job

    Your social media posts might win over friends and get you few hundred or thousand likes, shares or retweets, however they can also cost you a job. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 5 social media mistakes most likely to cost you a job.

    You Complain About Work

    When hiring managers sometimes browse through social media profiles of candidates, imagine what their impression of you will be when they see ‘job complaint posts’ on your wall. They are very likely going to be turned off and conclude that you are a potential danger to their brand (mainly because there is nothing to stop you from bad mouthing their firm too). The question then would be, ‘Would I want to hire a person that can be a potential danger to the brand of my firm?’ and the answer to that question is quite clear.

    You’re Vulgar or Offensive

    If you (with a personal account that you can be identified with) are offensive or vulgar enough on social media to warrant mentions or retweets, it’s out there for everyone to see and it’s especially visible to headhunters or hiring managers. For hiring managers or headhunters, it speaks volumes about your maturity and professionalism level (or lack thereof). God help you if the firm you applied to is in anyway affiliated to anyone or any organization you have insulted on social media (Sergi Guardiola comes to mind here).

    Sharing Your Latest Job Offer

    Some job offers are sometimes confidential and unintended to be shared in a space as public as social media. As a result, some firms react negatively to this, may see you as having broken confidentiality and may revoke their job offer. In the event, you can share the good news about the job offer with everyone and anyone, be sure you don’t say anything negative about it which can be seen by an employee or anyone affiliated with the firm or company.

    Mocking or Complaining About Your Customers

    Especially if you are working in the service industry, this is another social media activity to avoid. Like complaining about your boss or work, mocking or complaining about customers can also have equally negative effects. Complaining about your customers shows your company in a bad light, and if any of your customers see this complaint, they are most likely to report to your employer who is very likely to not tolerate such behavior from an employee.

    Contradictory Posts

    A candidate once narrated a heart-wrenching story of how she had to quit her previous job because she was injured in a car accident and was unable to return from a leave of absence. The hiring manager then decided to look through her social media profile and found pictures of her lounging and waterskiing on vacation around the same period. That was all that was needed to knock her out of the running for the position. Be careful with social media.

     

  • Four health signs you must never ignore

    Four health signs you must never ignore

    Our health is something we must take utmost care of, unfortunately, many times this isn’t always the case. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 4 health signs from your body that you must never ignore.

    Pain After Exercise

    If you are someone who exercises (everyone should exercise by the way) and you realize that you feel significant pain after exercising, not just muscle soreness but long-term pain and swelling, you should never ignore this. This pain might indicate temporary muscle or bone damage that can become permanent. If you have constant pains after exercise, try cutting down your workouts, and be sure to apply ice to the painful area. If the pain persists, go see a physician.

    Severe Head Pain

    This doesn’t refer to normal headaches or migraines, but that ‘worst pain ever’ kind of headache with constant peaks within seconds or minutes. The headache becomes so intense that it not only affects your vision, but your mental functions. This isn’t a sign you should ever ignore. It’s advisable to go see a doctor for a checkup.

    Losing Weight Without Trying

    For most people, this is considered a blessing they embrace and even celebrate, but it is important to be careful when you notice this. Rapid or constant weight loss when you have done absolutely nothing and changed nothing in your diet, lifestyle, activity or exercise, can be indicative of an underlying health condition. You are better off not ignoring this and going for a medical checkup.

    Always Very Thirsty

    This could be normal for most people, but if you find out that you don’t usually feel very thirsty and all of a sudden it’s like you have to consume tankers of water to quench your frequent thirsts, it’s another sign you should pay attention to. Particularly if the frequent thirst is accompanied by any swelling or rapid weight gain or if it’s accompanied by nausea or fatigue, you should ensure you don’t ignore this sign and go for a checkup.

     

  • Six ways to respond to anger

    Six ways to respond to anger

    We live in increasingly stressful times with people flaring up over little and trivial things. At this point, it’s fair to say that the knowledge of how to handle anger or angry responses is essential. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 6 ways to respond to anger.

    Listen

    When a person is angry all they really want is to vent their feelings out to someone, howbeit violently. Unfortunately, this zeal to vent falls on those who are at closest proximity to them. One great thing to do is to simply listen to the person express their anger until they calm down or wear themselves out. Simply hear them out.

    Do Not Analyse

    Avoid analyzing all you have listened to and avoid responding at the moment. Don’t worry yourself about if you agree or disagree with all that’s being said. Anger is a largely irrational emotion, therefore your thoughts and feelings about the situation are best kept to yourself when one is angry, especially if you’re the subject of their anger or you’re personally involved.

    Avoid Apologizing

    You would think apologizing will calm an angry person down but most times it isn’t so. Many times, apologizing aggravates the person’s anger. Most times, a person is angry because they are not able to get their way with you or with a situation. The key to calming an angry person is to either remain quiet (which can be taken for compliance) or gently acknowledging the person’s anger and assuring the person of your compliance.

    Try to Reason with the Person

    Later on, when the person is calmer you can address irrational aspect of their outburst and try to reason with them. They are more likely to listen, if they haven’t already realized their own irrationality. If they don’t reason with you and you’re not ready to actually comply, you can opt out of or distance yourself from the situation or person. You can also be patient and give the person time to prove themselves right or wrong.

    Try To Relate

    It’s okay to question yourself a little. It’s the healthy and humble thing to do. Question your fault in the situation; try to see things from another perspective to confirm the certainty of your views. Be sure you’re on the right track, if you are, then you can either decide to opt out or if you can afford it, give the person time to prove themselves right or wrong. Also, try to relate with the person and understand where the person is coming from. This can help you solve the problem or misunderstanding easily.

    Protect Yourself

    Keep a safe distance from someone who is angry. It’s a well-known fact that people tend to get physical, threatening and abusive when angry. This is mainly because anger is a largely violent and dangerous emotion. You need to trust your instincts and properly assess the situation. If at any point, you feel threatened or in danger, leave the area immediately without hesitation and without saying anything else to the person (run if you have to, you’re not being coward, you’re being smart.)

  • Five mistakes you’re making while charging your phone

    Five mistakes you’re making while charging your phone

    Many phone users tend to complain that their device’s batteries discharge quickly. They also typically blame the product manufacturer for this issue; however the manufacturer isn’t always at fault. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 5 mistakes that users typically make when charging their phones.

    Waiting for the Battery to Reach Low Levels Before Charging

    Avoid waiting for your battery to reach a critically low level before charging. The effect of this on your phone battery is not immediate, but over time it begins to manifest and it eventually stresses out your phone battery (yes, batteries get stressed too) and shortens the battery life. Think of your battery as a human body, you really don’t need to wait until you’re about to die before you rest and eat to recharge yourself.

    Keeping Your Phone Case on While Charging

    Your phone typically emits heat when charging. To avoid exposing your device to ambient temperatures, it’s advisable to remove the phone case while charging your phone so that the heat emitted from your phone while charging can escape. This way you can prevent your device from becoming hotter and potentially overheating when charging. Charging your battery at uncomfortable temperatures can permanently damage battery capacity.

    Charging Your Phone in the Wrong Places

    You should mind where you charge your phone, because not doing so can negatively affect your battery capacity. Phones have a temperature range they can function normally and charging your phone in a hot area can raise the temperature and stress the battery out. Also, charging your phone in especially low temperature areas, like in front of an air conditioner, can also cause problems for your battery that will eventually affect its optimum performance.

    Charging Your Phone Overnight

    The least you’ll sleep throughout the night is most likely going to be between 5 to 8 hours, your smartphone battery typically only needs 2 to 3 hours to fully charge. Charging your phone overnight, constantly stresses your phone battery each night. Sooner than later, your phone is likely to have battery problems. In addition, the temperature rises when the battery is overcharged, so apart from shortening battery life, it can also threaten user’s safety in the event it quickly heats up and explodes. It’s better to charge your phone before you sleep and switch it off while sleeping to preserve the battery till the next day.

    Plugging Whatever Charger Fits

    This especially applies to smartphones. Most smartphones use a micro USB for its chargers and for this reasons most people tend to switch and swap chargers since it fits into and works on their phones. However, this is not appropriate and in the long run it can negatively affect your phone battery. The fact that most smartphones have the same micro USB doesn’t mean all chargers and phones are compatible. Some chargers function differently and that difference can be detrimental to your device if care is not taken.

  • Five reasons your smartphone needs a screen protector

    Five reasons your smartphone needs a screen protector

    Everyone knows smartphones are on the pricy side and it can be quite frustrating to spend a large chunk of money on one and end up with a scratched or cracked screen. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 5 of many reasons why your smartphone needs a screen protector.

    Shatter resistance

    Screen protectors can be shatter resistant but not all screen protectors are shatter resistant. For shatter resistance, tempered glass screen protectors can be very effective protection for your smartphone screen against scratches, cracks and shattering of the screen. Tempered glass screen protectors also help to protect your device further against normal wear and tear.

    Preserves resale value

    Typically, most people use a phone for a year or two before they start thinking of making a change. Regardless of how long you intend to use your smartphone, if you are able to preserve your devices from cracks and scratches, it will contribute positively to its resale value. Ideally, when it comes to resale value, the smartphone devices with little or no scratches on their screens are able to be sold for substantially more. The best way to achieve this is to use a screen protector.

    Removes glare from light

    Smartphones are mobile and for this reason they are likely to be used while on a bus, in a park, outdoors, indoors and basically just about anywhere. Because of this, the glare from light especially when the smartphone is being used outdoors can be quite uncomfortable and can cause eye tension. Anti-glare screen protectors help to take care of this problem by cutting down on the glare and improving screen visibility, thus reducing eye tension.

    Fingerprints

    Having a screen protector can help to keep pesky fingerprint impressions away from your smartphone screen. Anti-fingerprint screen protectors are made from a lipophobic coating that repels skin oils and provides resistance to the appearance and attachment of fingerprints and smudges, making prints on the screen almost invisible from all angles. This helps you to avoid cleaning your screen constantly.

    Improves aesthetics

    Who needs a mirror when you have a reflective screen protector? Reflective screen protectors are perfect for serving the dual purpose of protecting your screen and being a mirror that can be used to assess your physical appearance from time to time to be sure that nothing is out of place. When the phone is in use, the reflective screen protector acts like a normal screen, but when the phone is locked or turned off, that’s when it acts like a mirror. The reflective screen protector also has an attractive look that improves the aesthetic appeal of the phone, in addition to protecting your screen from scratches and helping you assess your physical appearance.