Buhle Goslar, Africa CEO of leading banking service platform Jumo, is the latest executive to join Copia Global’s growing board providing the e-Commerce startup with additional expertise and deep sector knowledge. The announcement comes when Copia expands its services from e-Commerce to digital and financial services such as payments, credits, and loan products.
Buhle’s appointment is announced a few months after the appointment of Jason Murray, a 19-year ex-Amazon executive, to the Copia board. Jason brings to the board an in-depth understanding of the global e-Commerce industry that will strengthen the company’s model as it expands across Africa.
Buhle brings extensive experience and knowledge to Copia, having held significant leadership roles in financial services, technology, retail, product growth, and consumer analytics in markets across Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and Asia. She joins a team of highly accomplished Copia Board members, including Copia’s Co-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 Copia Global Founder and Chairman Tracey Turner, “Buhle brings a deep understanding of the financial and retail sectors in the African market. Her experience is invaluable to our efforts to ensure Copia’s Digital and Financial Services supports and enhances our e-Commerce platform. She has unique insights on our goal of financially empowering Africa’s middle to low-income consumers .”
Steeped in retail banking expertise, Buhle’s perspective as a leading African female leader in the financial services sector will support Copia’s rapid growth and expansion across the African continent. She will also bring her experience leading complex regulatory, environmental, social, and governance initiatives to Copia’s board.
Launched in Kenya in 2013, Copia is the first and only B2C e-Commerce platform with a distribution solution to serve Africa’s rapidly growing 750 million middle and low-income consumer market. The company leverages 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 has built a network of over 38,000 Agents, and 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.
Speaking on her appointment, Buhle Goslar, CEO of Africa Region and Pakistan, Jumo said, “As someone passionate about developing solutions for emerging market consumers, I admire Copia’s commitment to providing e-Commerce access to Africa’s growing middle-to-low-income consumer population. I am thrilled to be joining Copia’s impressive leadership team at such an exciting time of growth in the African e-Commerce and fintech sectors.”
Buhle’s appointment comes on the heels of Copia celebrating its first anniversary of expansion to Uganda and announcing a state-of-the-art fulfillment centre to open in 2023.
In other recent news, Copia was named one of the top six Kenyan companies in the 2022 Financial Times Africa’s 75 fastest growing companies, highlighting Africa’s innovation, leadership, and talent across all business sectors, particularly technology. Copia is also the only startup on the list in the e-Commerce category.
According to a recent report, Copia is one of the twelve African startups with the largest funding rounds in 2022. This is coming after the company announced a $50 million Series C equity fundraising in January 2022 to help grow its proven model across East Africa and expand into other African countries, extending its services to millions of Africa’s underserved consumers.
For more information on Copia, please visit https://copiaglobal.com. Also, follow Copia on social media via Twitter; @CopiaKenya, and Instagram; @CopiaKenya