Copia Global, a B2C e-commerce platform that serves middle and low-income consumers in Kenya and Uganda, has announced that it will suspend its Uganda operation and focus on driving its Kenya business to profitability.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Copia Global CEO Tim Steel said that the decision was made in response to the economic downturn and constrained capital markets that are expected to continue for some time.
“Given the economic downturn and constrained capital markets are expected to continue for some time, Copia will double down on efforts to drive our founding Kenya business to sustainable, scaled profitability,” Steel said.
He added that the Kenya entity is rapidly growing its e-commerce service, providing 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.
“Our Uganda business successfully demonstrated the demand for and replicability of the Copia model in bringing e-commerce to the Africa mass market and we are hugely grateful to the talented team in Uganda who made this happen in such a short time frame,” Steel said.
He said that the company will resume its Africa expansion plans once it achieves profitability in Kenya, with its proven formula for successful expansion.
“This highly focused approach will ensure that Copia is well positioned to pursue its pan-African ambitions with its proven formula for successful expansion, to serve the 800 million middle and low income consumers through the power of e-commerce. We are committed to working hard to achieve our goals, and once we achieve this goal, we look forward to relaunching in Uganda and across the continent,” Steel said.
He thanked the company’s stakeholders for their continued support.
Copia Global was founded in 2013 by Tracey Turner and Jonathan Lewis, two Silicon Valley veterans. Their vision was to bring the power of mobile commerce to Africans with middle and low incomes, transforming this historically underserved market into empowered global consumers.
According to its website, Copia Global has over 40,000 digital-enabled agents across Kenya and Uganda, 2 million customers and over 13 million orders to date. It provides access to a variety of quality products that are delivered at customers’ convenience, saving them time and money.