NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenyan-based mobile commerce platform and goods distributor Copia Global has raised $50 million from investors to fund its expansion into the rest of Africa, the firm said on Thursday.
Copia is among a group of African start-ups that aim to use information technology to solve the continent’s problems, like highly fragmented and informal retail markets.
Copia, which serves mid-level and low-income customers in the rural parts of the East African nation, was founded in 2013.
It uses mobile technologies, a network of more than 25,000 agents – small shopkeepers who take orders and deliver goods – and its own logistics facilities to reach shoppers who do not have access to formal retailers like supermarket chains.
The Series C funding round was led by Netherlands-based Goodwell Investments, Copia said in a statement. Other investors included Lightrock, German development financier DEG and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation.
Copia did not give details on the specific nations it will expand into, but it said that there are millions of consumers around the continent, who are not served by formal retailers.
It also did not give the valuation of the company.
“Copia can deliver to the most remote locations, even in places with poor road infrastructure or lack of addresses, at no additional cost to the customer,” the firm said, adding that urban residents can use the service to shop on behalf of their relatives upcountry.
(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Kirsten Donovan Editing by Duncan Miriri and Kirsten Donovan)
