E-commerce startup Copia’s financial woes are far from over, as less than two weeks after going under administration to cushion its liquidity crisis, delivery services in six towns have been halted.
The towns affected by the termination are Meru, Embu, Kericho, Eldoret, Machakos, and Naivasha.
Workers in these stations have been sent home on indefinite leave pending final determination, as communicated in an internal email from the company’s human resource director, Ann Mwihaki.
“We regret that we have to stop serving these locations at this time as we resize and reshape the business, but we expect that we will in the future return to these areas,” the email read.
The company is undergoing restructuring attempts, as in March it was announced that more than 1,060 employees were facing lay-off due to redundancy in a bid to resize amid financial constraints.
On May 23, the board of directors placed the company under administration to stabilize affairs by restructuring it as a going concern. This is done to either turn it into a profitable company or sell it to preserve its value.
Makenzi Muthusi and KPMG auditor Julius Ngonga are leading the administration process to oversee operations as the company seeks survival funding.
Muthusi sent a separate email guaranteeing employees that the company would still disburse May salaries despite delays brought on by administrative tasks relating to bank accounts.
While announcing the retrenchment of the 1060 staff, Copia CEO Tim Steel assured that they would go after a month in compliance with labour laws.
Established in 2013 by Silicon Valley’s Tracey Turner and Jonathan Lewis, Copia’s monetary difficulties are a mystery as it was once one of the most immensely funded startups receiving US$ 123 million (Ksh 17 billion).
