The news:
- Tracey Turner, Co-founder of Copia Global, a Kenyan-based B2B eCommerce platform, is reportedly planning to launch a new startup barely two months after her former company entered administration.
- Reports indicate that the new company, already registered in Kenya, is also an eCommerce platform that will focus on delivering household items in Nairobi and the surrounding suburbs in the East African nation.
- Turner is also said to be in talks with potential investors, with three investors already secured to back the new startup.
Per TechCabal, Tim Steel, former Copia CEO, will join the new startup, although it’s still unclear in what capacity. Until Copia entered administration in May 2024, Steel was the CEO, a position he held since March 2017.
Tracey Turner and Tim Steel have yet to comment on their alleged new business venture, a continuation of their business relationship after their previous stint at Copia.
In November 2019, Copia raised $26 million in a Series B round led by LGT Lightstone, with participation from Perivoli Innovations, Endeavor Catalyst, ELEA and Goodwell Investments.
In December 2023, the eCommerce platform announced raising a $20 million Series C extension round a day after unveiling its partnership with payments giant Visa. This followed a $50 million Series C funding round in January 2022 to expand throughout East Africa.
Despite all these investments, the company announced the possibility of laying off more than 1,000 employees in May 2024, citing "uncertainties." At the time, Steel noted that it may have to close shop if downsizing was insufficient.
By May 24, 2024, barely one week after the layoff announcement, Copia entered administration following admission that it would struggle to make payroll.
Under the administrators, Makenzi Muthusi and Julius Ngonga of KPMG laid off the remaining staff with the hope of raising new funding.
After attempts to revive the business failed, the B2B eCommerce startup decided to end operations and sell assets, including delivery trucks, warehouses, and office equipment, to pay employees and creditors.Other than Copia, other players in Kenya’s eCommerce sector, including iProcure, a B2B farm input platform and Rejareja, a B2B eCommerce platform, have also shut down business in 2024.
