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Orange, the French telecoms giant, has acquired a stake in Africa Internet Group (AIG), the parent company of online retailer, Jumia, for 75 million euros ($85 million).

With this announcement, Orange joins other investors in AIG such as Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank; Axa, the French insurance group; MTN, the South Africa mobile giant; and Rocket Internet, a German startup investor.

Orange said in a statement on Tuesday that the partnership will help AIG’s portfolio of online businesses to accelerate their growth and seize opportunities across Africa.

“With this strategic investment, Orange now has the capacity to play a leading role in the fast-growing e-commerce market in Africa,” said Stéphane Richard, Chairman/CEO of Orange. “In particular, across the twelve countries where we have a common presence, this investment will enable us to significantly develop our ability to market products and services developed by Orange Middle East & Africa over the Internet.”

Last month, AIG said it raised $326 million from investors, becoming the first African internet company to be valued above $1 billion. In addition to Jumia, AIG owns other web-based services such as Kaymu, an e-commerce marketplace; Hellofood, an online food delivery service; Jovago, a hotel booking platform; Carmudi, a cars classified website; Lamudi, a real estate classifieds website, among others.

“We are thrilled by Orange’s equity investment and are eager to translate our strategic partnership into unique offers for our customers,” said Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara, founders and co-CEOs of Jumia and Africa Internet Group.
“With Orange’s support and expertise, combined with that of our existing long-standing shareholders, we will be able to further improve our service offerings and the customer experience while continuing to invest in our infrastructure.”

Orange has been on an acquisition drive to boost its presence in Africa’s fast-growing telecommunications market. In 2016 alone, Orange paid $160 million for Tigo DRC and $900 million for Bharti Airtel’s operations in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone. Orange also acquired Cellcom Telecommunications, the second largest mobile operator in Liberia, for an undisclosed fee.

So far, the French telecoms giant has operations in over 20 African countries, including Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Niger, Mali, Tunisia, Kenya, and Egypt.