This move comes after Copia Global secured $20 million in a Series C extension round. Enza Capital, co-founded in 2019 by Lazar, whose extensive experience includes serving as CEO of Metaswitch Networks,  was a significant participant in the funding round, along with LGT, Goodwell Investments, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), DEG, Elea, Perivoli Foundation, and Sorenson Foundation.

Copia Global, founded a decade ago, focuses on serving mid- and low-income African consumers, particularly in rural areas. The company operates in a market where consumer spending in Africa is expected to surpass $2 trillion in the next three years.

The platform targets consumers facing challenges in accessing goods and services, emphasising choice, price value, and reliability. Utilising a network of local agents and logistics to reach its target market, Copia has experienced annual growth of 100% in recent years. This is despite recent challenges and a strategic shift, with annual revenues projected to exceed $60 million by the end of 2023.

Copia recently digitised its network of agents, increasing app usage from 5% to 80% within a year. With increased smartphone penetration in Kenya, the company aims to focus on digitising its millions of consumers by exploring smartphone financing models.

Copia shifted its focus from aggressive expansion to achieving profitability, aligning with broader industry trends. The company reduced its workforce by at least 700 roles and closed its Uganda business to streamline operations.

On future plans, Copia’s founder and chair, Tracey Turner, emphasises maintaining Pan-African ambitions despite the current focus on profitability in Kenya. Lazar, joining Copia’s board, aims to leverage his tech expertise, network, and provide strategic guidance to support the company’s growth and revenue generation strategies.

While Copia faces challenges akin to other B2C e-commerce platforms in Africa, the company remains optimistic about achieving profitability, effectively leveraging strategies within the industry.

The goal is to simplify payments for Copia Global’s diaspora and urban customers.

Copia’s diaspora and urban customers can now conveniently initiate transactions and purchases for their loved ones in rural areas in Kenya using the Cellulant network. 

This also provides greater choice, affordability, and convenience for both urban and rural shoppers when shopping for everyday items. 

“We are deeply committed to simplifying e-commerce in Africa and are excited to collaborate with Cellulant in expanding Copia’s market reach. This will enable us to provide diaspora and urban customers with alternative and convenient payment options when they shop on Copia’s platform for friends and family across Kenya and Uganda,” said Tim Steel, Chief Executive Officer, Copia Global. 

Remittance inflows to Kenya have increased tenfold in the last fifteen years, reaching an all-time high of $3.72 million in 2021, according to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). 

For many Kenyans as in many African nations, digital payments made by diasporans to rural families provide a financial lifeline to millions of households. Diasporans and people living in urban areas can use Copia’s online platform to pay for goods and have them delivered to friends and family back home. 

“We are delighted to be Copia’s payments technology partner enabling consumers in the diaspora to make purchases seamlessly. As the African e-commerce and payments landscape in Africa continues to evolve, we believe that fintechs and e-commerce platforms need to have a deeper collaboration in expanding opportunities that will help ease payments and collections for businesses and their consumers across all sectors of the economy”, said Akshay Grover, Chief Executive Officer Cellulant.

In recent years, Cellulant has led the charge in simplifying payments for a wide range of businesses in various sectors such as airlines, telecoms, e-commerce platforms, and ride-hailing companies among others processing about $14 billion in 2021 alone. 

Cellulant provides a single digital payments platform – named Tingg- that addresses the complex payments needs of businesses. Tingg makes it easy to collect and make payments across multiple payment methods in different currencies, with the best customer experience for any business looking to digitize its payments.

Copia combines mobile technology, over 40,000 digitally enabled local agents, and an innovative last-mile logistics system to provide a broad product offering efficient, reliable delivery to rural consumers. The streamlined process enables customers to simply provide the phone number of a friend or family member at checkout and Copia will do the rest, including locating the recipient, identifying the nearest delivery centre agent, and delivering the goods.