Copia Global, Kenyan-based B2C e-commerce platform with a distribution solution has appointed former Amazon executive Jason Murray to its Board in bid to help serve the rapidly growing 750 million middle and low-income African consumer market.
Jason, who has been on Amazon’s leadership team for 19 years in software development, pricing, inventory planning, fulfillment, supply chain management, and retail systems and saw the company grow its revenues from $1.6 billion to $236 billion. He brings this wealth of e-commerce knowledge to Copia Global during its time of rapid growth. Other Copia Global Board members include Founder and Chairman Tracey Turner, Isaac Awuondo, Chairman NCBA Bank, Jerry Held, a successful Silicon Valley technology executive, and Shakir Merali, LGT Impact investor representative.
According to Tracey Turner, Copia Global Founder and Chairman, “We are delighted to welcome Jason Murray to our Board. He brings an in-depth understanding of the global e-commerce industry, which will enhance the Copia model as we expand across Africa. Jason joins Copia at an exciting time when the African middle-class is growing, and Copia is experiencing rapid growth. Jason’s invaluable Amazon growth perspective will reinforce Copia’s strategy, accelerate our profitability and increase the value we provide to our customers and partners.”
Launched in Kenya in 2013, Copia Global harnesses mobile technologies, a network of local Agents, and proprietary Copia Logistics to reach a market that formal retail and Western e-commerce models cannot. Copia brings quality products at the lowest market prices delivered at no cost to thousands of customers every day. The company has fulfilled more than 10 million orders in Kenya and Uganda.
Jason has also build and led multiple global Amazon teams from India to China and his invaluable e-commerce scaling expertise will be helpful to Copia as it embarks on its international expansion strategy.
“In a challenging environment, Copia has already achieved significant milestones in its mission to provide access to an underserved consumer mass-market in Africa and has demonstrated an unwavering customer-centric focus that I admire,” said Jason Murray, Co-Founder, and CEO, Shipium. “Given Copia’s impressive growth rate and the opportunity to expand across Africa, I am reminded of Amazon’s early days, which further indicates Copia’s enormous potential. I am thrilled to be joining an impressive cast of industry professionals in leading Copia’s world-class team to empower Africa’s low-to-middle-income consumers.”
The company has built a network of just under 30,000 Agents, small shopkeepers who serve as order and delivery points, across Kenya and Uganda. This allows customers to choose how they interact with Copia – online or offline. Operating its own technology-enabled world-class logistics service, 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. Urban and diaspora-based consumers can also use the service to shop for loved ones back home at www.copia.co.ke.
“At Copia, we have developed an e-commerce model that is unique to the African middle to low-income class, and there is much to learn from Amazon’s incredible global growth trajectory. We are excited to have the opportunity to leverage the experience and perspective of a former Amazon leader such as Jason Murray towards Copia’s growth,” said Tim Steel, CEO, Copia Global.