Copia, an e-commerce platform targeting low-income households, is at risk of shutting down its operations or performing a massive restructuring that will see hundreds of its workforce become redundant. After facing financial struggles, the company says these are the measures it has to take to “ensure the sustainability of its operations.”
“Despite our best efforts to navigate this [financial] challenge and explore avenues for additional funding, we find ourselves in a position where we must consider a far-reaching organizational re-structuring to ensure the sustainability of our operations or even a possible shutting down of operations,” a memo to the staff being shared online reads in part.
The memo further warns that it could fail to pay salaries, adding that potential restructuring will see about 1,060 jobs cut across the company.
The company has previously undertaken similar measures to become “cashflow positive.” This includes recently cutting 25 percent of its workforce in Kenya after closing its operations in Uganda last April. The e-commerce platform closed shop in Uganda to “prioritize profitability.” Now it seems its future is even more gloomy after failing to raise more funds to mitigate its current financial predicament.
Founded in 2012, Copia Global has raised about $103 million in VC funding from previous rounds It recently raised $50 million in round C funding led by Zebu Investment Partners, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and Koa Labs, alongside existing partners including Lightrock, DEG, and Perivoli Innovations.
The B2C platform recently launched a campaign in November to boost sales through its mobile app. In December, Copia signed a 5-year partnership with Visa seeking to further expand its capabilities by leveraging Visa’s digital payment solutions.
We’ll update this post on future developments as they unfold.
