COPIA
LOCATION
KENYA
SECTOR
ACCESS TO GOODS
YEAR OF INVESTMENT
2013
Need
E-commerce has exploded in Kenya in recent years, bringing competition and lowering prices of consumer goods for urban consumers. However, given logistics and communication barriers, delivery to rural customers has been minimal, resulting in poorer rural customers paying a poverty premium on products readily accessible to urban residents.
Solution
Copia Global Inc (“Copia”) is a consumer catalogue order and delivery system for non-perishable household goods, which serves Base of the Pyramid consumers in Kenya. By making accessible a wide range of consumer goods, from thread to sewing machines, nails to hammers, matches to solar lights, Copia’s mission is tackling the “poverty penalty” and, in doing so, improving the quality of life of people in rural villages, transforming them into empowered global consumers.
Impact
Copia has seen dramatic growth since its inception, creating meaningful employment for its 3,000 agents and significant savings for its customers, the majority of whom are mothers below 40 years of age, earning $2-3 per day. Over the coming years, Copia will create a detailed replication plan based on its Nairobi experience and will launch other hubs to reach the underserved population living around Lake Victoria. Copia has tapped into a need and opportunity to allow rural Base of the Pyramid customers to enjoy equal access at a fair price to products easily available to urban residents.
