Just weeks after the dramatic collapse of Copia Global, its top executives have launched a new e-commerce platform in Kenya called Stahili, raising fresh questions about the re-emergence of the same players behind the high-profile failure.
According to Nation Newspaper Group, Stahili was incorporated in June 2024, barely a month after Copia went into administration, by the very same team behind the defunct company.
Timothy Steel, Michael King, and co-founder Tracey Turner have taken up key roles at Stahili, a new digital marketplace that promises customers discounted products, cashback, and mobile data rewards for completing surveys and providing feedback to merchants.
Corporate filings reveal that Stahili is wholly owned by Copia Holding Company, the US-registered entity that previously financed Copia Global. This suggests a strategic repurposing of the Copia structure, even as administrators continue to sell off Copia assets to repay creditors.
“The move is bold, if not controversial. It highlights how tech founders often get a second shot even after monumental failure,” the Nation noted.
Copia’s fall was a cautionary tale in Africa’s startup ecosystem. Founded in 2012, the Kenyan-based e-commerce and logistics company raised over US$123 million across seven funding rounds to serve lower-income shoppers via digital ordering and last-mile delivery.
However, it never achieved profitability, with its Uganda expansion floundering and rising logistics costs outpacing revenue.
By May 2024, the company had entered administration. Four months later, operations completely ceased.
Now, the Stahili playbook appears different. Modeled on global discount platforms like Groupon and Coupang, the startup aims to connect value-driven Kenyan consumers with merchants who offer incentives in exchange for engagement.
Whether Kenyan shoppers and investors will trust this reboot remains uncertain.
“The shadow of Copia looms large. But in Kenya’s volatile e-commerce market, bold reinvention is often the only way forward,” the Nation wrote.
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