Ex-Jumia exec launches grocery e-commerce startup Kapu after securing Ksh.980M funding

A former executive of the online marketplace Jumia has launched an e-commerce platform in Kenya, specialising in the sale of groceries.

Dubbed Kapu, the firm was founded in January by former Jumia Group Executive Vice President Sama Chappatte and launched on Monday after raising Ksh.980 million ($8 million) in seed funding.

Kapu seeks to enable consumers to buy groceries at prices lower by up to 30 per cent, both online and offline.

With local agents around city estates, it will be sourcing its fresh produce and packaged consumer goods directly from manufacturers and producers.

The funding was led by Giant Ventures and Firstminute Capital and saw the participation of Founder Collective, Base Capital, Norrsken and Raven One.

He added that the firm's model is inspired by the Chinese global online retailer Alibaba.

“We're striving to build the most relevant model of B2C e-commerce for the majority of folks in urban Africa. Inspired by Alibaba’s New Retail and the impact hard discounters like Costco & Aldi have had in US/Europe, we believe there’s a "new retail" model for Africa. If we can crack this, we can sustainably bring down the cost of goods for millions of folks across the Continent,” he said.

According to the American technology outlet TechCruch, Once a consumer makes an order with an agent the products will be delivered for free the next day at the agent collection centre.

The company will also be taking group orders to enable the customers to save money by buying supplies at lower prices.

“Customers receive a notification from Kapu and also from the agents, to go pick up their goods. Many agents also deliver to consumers’ homes,” said Chappate.

Kapu says plans to enable order placement via WhatsApp are underway.