Grace Ashiru
The company said that the mobile commerce platform Copia, which is based in Kenya, has stopped operations in Uganda and put growth plans on hold in Africa. This is because of a slowing economy and tight capital markets.
Copia will instead focus on making its Kenyan business profitable. According to a company statement, Kenya is “rapidly growing its e-commerce service, providing middle-income consumers with an unmatched high-quality, low-cost distribution capability built on a network of more than 50,000 agents.”
In January 2022, Goodwell Investments led a $50 million Series C stock round. This move comes after that round. More than 10 million orders have been handled by Copia so far.
Copia started in Kenya in 2013. It uses mobile technology, a network of local agents, and its operations to reach a market that traditional retail and Western e-commerce models can’t. It gives thousands of customers daily access to high-quality goods sold at the lowest prices on the market and shipped to them for free.
In October 2022, the company hired Caren Robb as its global CFO, Mike King as its CTO, and Dominic Dimba as its East Africa managing director. It is unclear how many workers will lose their jobs because Copia has stopped doing business in Uganda.
