Investors in collapsed e-commerce startup Copia Kenya are unlikely to recover their money after the High Court appointed liquidators to wind up the company, with its assets falling far short of its liabilities.
Court filings by the company’s administrators show that Copia had realisable assets worth Sh206.6 million as of March 2026, while its liabilities were substantially higher. The startup had raised $123 million (about Sh15.9 billion) through eight funding rounds, making it one of Kenya’s most heavily funded technology companies.
Its backers included Kenyan venture capital firm Enza Capital, UK-based Lightrock, the US International Development Finance Corporation, Netherlands-based Goodwell Investments and Dutch impact investor DOB Equity.
Copia was established in 2012 by former Silicon Valley executives Tracey Turner and Jonathan Lewis. The company built an e-commerce model around locally based agents who used digital technology as ordering and delivery points, enabling consumers in rural areas to access products through the platform.
The business expanded rapidly and attracted significant investor funding before financial difficulties forced it to scale back its operations.
Following Copia’s collapse, Turner and Lewis jointly launched another e-commerce venture, Stahili, which is owned by Copia’s US-based parent, Copia Holding Company.
Stahili operates as an online consumer-data analysis company. Copia was unable to secure additional funding at the beginning of 2024, leading to the loss of more than 1,000 jobs. The company was subsequently placed under administration in May that year.
Its administrators, Julius Mumo Ngonga and Anthony Makenzi Muthusi of KPMG, later recommended liquidation after determining that the business could no longer continue as a going concern. The liquidation process was delayed after two suppliers went to court to challenge the move. They argued that winding up the company would increase administrative expenses without improving the prospects of recovery for unsecured creditors.
The High Court has now dismissed the challenge and appointed Ngonga and Muthusi as joint liquidators of Copia Kenya. “Julius Mumo Ngonga and Anthony Makenzi Muthusi are hereby appointed as the Joint Liquidators of Copia Kenya Limited (In Liquidation),” the court said in a liquidation order dated September 17, 2026. The liquidators will identify and dispose of the company’s remaining assets before distributing the proceeds among creditors in accordance with the law.
Secured creditors, including banks holding collateral, rank ahead of other claims. They are followed by preferential creditors, such as employees, while unsecured creditors rank further down the order. Shareholders and other investors rank last because their interests are treated as equity rather than debt. They can only receive money if anything remains after the company’s liabilities and liquidation expenses have been settled.
With Copia’s assets worth only Sh206.6 million against substantially higher liabilities, investors are therefore unlikely to recover their capital. The administrators have estimated creditors’ claims and administration expenses at Sh169.5 million. Once preferential claims and liquidation expenses, including liquidators’ fees, statutory advertising and professional costs, are accounted for, little is expected to remain for unsecured creditors.
Among the creditors are Tuffsteel Limited, which is owed Sh13.3 million for goods and services supplied to Copia, and Jastan Traders Limited, which is owed Sh793,022. Tuffsteel had opposed the proposed liquidation, calling for greater disclosure and accountability regarding Copia’s assets and liabilities, the realisation of assets during administration, any asset disposals or transfers, the company’s financial records, and the conduct of its directors and administrators.
The supplier also raised concerns that assets could be dissipated, concealed, transferred or improperly disposed of and sought restrictions on such transactions until the company’s affairs had been fully accounted for and verified.
Jastan similarly opposed the liquidation unless measures were introduced to safeguard unsecured creditors and ensure their claims were properly recognised. The court, however, found no evidence that the administrators had acted improperly.
“Neither affidavit identifies specific evidence demonstrating that the Joint Administrators acted fraudulently, dishonestly, in bad faith or in breach of any express provision of the Insolvency Act,” the High Court said.
