Copia, a corporation based in Kenya, has announced plans to halt operations in Uganda. Due to the economic downturn and a rigid capital market, the corporation claimed it would delay its plans to expand into other African nations.
This move has been made by the mobile platform only a few months after it was introduced in Uganda.
Copia, however, sees this as a chance to develop and concentrate on Kenyan companies in order to achieve profitability.
According to the company’s announcement, “Given the economic downturn and constrained capital markets are expected to continue for some time, Copia plans to double down on efforts to drive our founding Kenya business to sustainable, scaled profitability.”
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Copia’s Statement
According to the statement, the company’s actions shouldn’t be seen as strange because many of the best companies in Africa and around the world use the same approach to account for market profitability.
“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.”
The most recent declaration made by the platform regarding the closure of its market in Uganda marks a change that was unexpected by industry professionals who are familiar with the workings of the platform. The expansion of Copia over the past few years has been driven by the company’s desire to serve customers in Africa with modest incomes.
In 2021, it raised KES 2.6 billion in a Series B campaign and added Betty Mwangi, former CEO of Jumia Kenya and Safaricom executive, to the board. In January 2022, Goodwell Investments led the startup’s $50 million Series C funding investment.
The Kenyan company hired Caren Robb as Global Chief Financial Officer, Mike King as Chief Technology Officer, and Dominic Dimba as Managing Director for East Africa in October of the same year to work together and accelerate regional growth and expansion.
The number of employees affected by the Uganda business suspension is unknown, but Copia argued that this approach would enable it to successfully pursue its pan-African ambitions to expand its market and serve 800 million middle- and low-income consumers through e-commerce.
About Copia
Copia offers a smooth shopping experience to all customers regardless of their financial level, access to technology, or geography, with a network of over 40,000 digitally empowered agents across Kenya and Uganda, 2 million clients, and over 13 million orders to date.
A market of middle-class to low-income African consumers is now accessible thanks to the company. Through its technologically capable agents and constantly updated print product catalogs, people without internet connections can nonetheless make purchases. The e-commerce platform created by Copia is tailored to the needs of Africa’s expanding middle- to low-income consumers, saving them both time and money.
It does this by utilizing cutting-edge technology to link people with middle-class incomes and those with low incomes to a variety of high-quality goods that may be delivered to them at their convenience.
