Apps and content

A completely cashless business

The success of mobile payment in Africa is laying the groundwork for more ambitious app-based mobile commerce systems. However, it takes a lot of careful planning, as the CEO of a Kenya-based mobile commerce platform tells Vaughan O’Grady.

COPIA IS A mobile commerce platform whose aim is to reach middle and low-income African consumers. This ambitious project began as a pilot in 2013 and, after a couple of years proving the concept and building the support infrastructure, the company then focused on expanding the business, which first saw the light of day in Kenya.

Tim Steel, CEO of Copia, explains: “Originally we thought that wholesaling into our agents with shops would be a big part of the business but ultimately decided that selling directly to customers through our agents was a better business model.”

In fact customers have multiple ways of interacting with Copia’s agents. They can visit an agent location to place an order, they can use the company’s USSD to place an order or they can call the contact centre. There’s also an app on the way that customers with smartphones can use to place orders.

Apps are an important part of the system. Steel explains: “Our agents that own smartphones can use our agent app, which allows them to browse our online catalogue and place orders for customers. Agents that do not have smartphones can place orders through SMS or USSD.” And it’s not just agents who can use apps. “All of our delivery crews use a delivery app that provides a route plan, confirms delivery of each order and processes returns.”

At the moment, however, the system is partly enabled by the consumer use of low-end mobile phones for transactions. “Our model is based on meeting our customers where they are – so they can use the channel that best

Take your pick: a visit to a Copia agent.

meets their individual needs.” As more Kenyans adopt higher-end smartphones they may use the app to place their orders. “We will likely be their first interaction with using an app for shopping,” says Steel.

The ubiquity of mobile money in Kenya was a key driver in starting the business here

As for back-office and support technology, Copia’s processes are completely automated. “Once an order is received in our ERP [enterprise resource planning], it begins a chain of events such as reserving inventory, creating kitting instructions for our warehouse team and developing the most efficient route

Phones, apps, agents and delivery crews come together for the Copia service.

plans for our delivery crews. At the same time, we scan all orders at all stages of fulfilment.”

The company also makes extensive use of other technology such as an interactive phone and ticketing system, GPS monitoring systems and dashboards for delivery crews, and business intelligence tools.

Of course customer insights are a useful way to improve service, and one of the key advantages Copia has is that it has transaction data for every single end customer purchase: which products a customer is purchasing, how much they have spent, where they live and when they are buying these products.

“We then use data analytics to develop marketing strategies for different customer segments,” Steel explains. “We also collect qualitative insights from our customers through regular focus groups.”

It’s not surprising that Kenya, a mobile money pioneer, is the first target market for this service. As Steel says: “The ubiquity of mobile money in Kenya was a key driver in starting the business here as it is possible to run a completely cashless business. It also provides unbanked customers the ability to interact with the global economy.”

But Kenya is just the start. “We are actively planning for our entry into other East African countries such as Uganda and Rwanda, and then expanding into West Africa.” ✆