Kenyan B2C e-commerce company Copia Global has raised $50 million in a Series C equity round led by Goodwell Investments. The new financing round welcomed new investors such as Zebu Investment Partners, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and Koa Labs, as well as past investors Lightrock, German development finance institution DEG, and Perivoli Innovations. The round comes three years after Copia’s Series B round of $26 million. The company has raised a total of $33.5 million in Series A and B funding. But including its Series C, Copia’s total funding since inception in 2013 now stands at $83.5 million. Copia Global was founded in Kenya by Tracey Turner and Jonathan Lewis as a B2C e-commerce platform to serve Africa’s middle- and low-income African consumers. Consumer spending in Africa is projected to reach over $2 trillion in the next three years, according to the IMF. The continent’s middle class is the primary driver of this growth. However, their shopping needs are not adequately served because of the high logistics costs that make Western-style e-commerce companies such as Jumia operate unprofitably. The African e-commerce giant has not turned a profit since going public as its losses continue to increase.
Copia, on the other hand, runs a business that allows it to deliver goods profitably, because of how it approaches the market. The e-commerce company focuses on customers in rural areas that struggle to access the same goods and services in terms of choice, price value and reliability that similar consumers in urban areas or of higher income levels can access. And though this target market can be hard to locate, and individuals may have smaller wallet sizes, their number which Copia says is about 750 million people across Africa and collective purchasing power present an opportunity, especially when a company thinks hyperlocal. Urban and diaspora-based consumers can also use the service to shop for loved ones in rural areas. So instead of buying the goods themselves and driving to their home location or sending the goods or money home on a bus, these middle- to high-income consumers can purchase the products through Copia’s website or app and send them to their families. The Kenyan company intends to use the Series C funding to grow its model across East Africa, mainly Kenya, Uganda and in the future, Rwanda, and Tanzania. In Kenya, Steel believes Copia can access 80% of its serviceable market over the next couple of years, up from 50% currently.