Kenya e-commerce startup Copia global has shut down its Uganda operations barely two years after it ventured into the east African country set to produce oil, citing economic downturn and limited access to capital. The move is expected to affect over 300 jobs.
The company was founded in Kenya y Tracey Turner and Jonathan Lewis In 2013. Copia Global is the only B2C platform providing e-commerce solutions for the rapidly growing middle to low-income consumers through mobile applications, agent networks, and an innovative last-mile logistics system.
Copia provides middle-income consumers with an unrivaled high-quality, low-cost, distribution capability, built on a network of more than 50,000 agents. This service also provides local manufacturers with a unique, efficient route to market
Two years ago, Copia Group expanded into Uganda to provide “its unique mobile commerce service to millions of middle-class Ugandans”. At the time, Tracey Turner, Copia Global Founder and Chair said that “Uganda has one of the fastest growing middle classes in the world with a hard-working population and a dynamic entrepreneurial culture. Copia is designed specifically to serve this high growth but underserved consumer base who want access to high-quality products at the best prices.”
He also described it as a next step in fulfilling Copia’s mission. Barely two years later, the economic downturn and constrained capital markets has forced the company to shut its Ugandan operations. “This decision is consistent with many of the best companies in Africa and across the world, which are responding to the market environment and prioritizing profit,” Tim Steel, CEO at Copia Global, said in a statement
Although this restructuring is the company’s move to focus on profitability, the CEO says the company will relaunch in Uganda and other parts of the continent in the near future. According to Steel, “Our Uganda business successfully demonstrated the demand for and replicability of the Copia model in bringing e-commerce to the Africa mass market.”
Just last year, Copia launched a 24,000 square feet Fulfillment Centre to make up for the increased demand for its services across 14 districts in the country.
With this exit, Steel said that the company will double down on its operations in Kenya. “The Kenya entity is rapidly growing its e-commerce service, ,” he added.
As of February 2023, the company fulfilled more than 13 million orders in both in Uganda and Kenya through a network of over 43,000 agents.
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Since its launch In 2013, Copia has drawn the attention of investors who have invested at least $103 million. Last year, the company raised $50 million in a Series C equity round led by Goodwell Investments.
“Copia’s e-commerce model is built for the unique requirements of the African market and will save many Africans a lot of time and money. We see it as one of the next big leapfrogging technologies; just like mobile phones leapfrogged landlines and solar power leapfrogged the grid, Copia is leapfrogging retail,” according to Els Boerhof, the managing partner at Goodwell Investments.
Unlike other e-commerce models, Copia customers walk into stores of partnered agents who place orders on their behalf, take payments and serve as delivery points. “We established relationships with agents in these areas because those agents are trusted members of the community and through them we build a direct relationship with the consumer,” Steel said in a previous interview.
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These users can also make orders through USSD codes and website; which mainly targets people in urban areas.
Beyond access to the wide variety of products available on its platform, Copia is also using the new facilities to deepen its outreach for specialised farming services in line with customer demand. Copia recently launched a full fledged Farming Division that offers all its customers free agro-extension guidance and access to 20 registered vet and agronomy professionals.
Recently Copia won global recognition for both its innovative Supply Chain management as well as its transformative Farming service.
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