In the latest chapter of the Copia Global story, the e-commerce startup’s founding team is back at it again — this time with a slightly less ambitious venture aimed at tackling the consumer survey and reward space. Stahili, the new brainchild of Timothy Steel, Michael King, and Tracey Turner, promises to revolutionize the way brands collect data by offering instant rewards for completing surveys. 

The Comeback: From E-Commerce Collapse to Survey Rewards

When Copia Global closed its doors in 2024, it left behind a trail of financial missteps, disappointed investors, and thousands of employees scrambling for new jobs. For those who might have expected a grand exit from the three co-founders, Stahili comes as a refreshing pivot. This time, instead of building an e-commerce empire, the trio is channeling their energies into a far less risky model: rewarding people for their opinions.

Tracey Turner, the former executive chair of Copia, now sits at the helm of Stahili as its chairperson. Alongside her, Timothy Steel (former CEO of Copia) and Michael King (former CTO of Copia) have all seamlessly transitioned to their new roles in the survey-tech space. Steel is now CEO, King is CTO, and Turner is the “strategic guide”, the chairperson. All three seem keen to demonstrate that they’ve learned from Copia’s catastrophic fall, opting for a more data-driven, user-focused approach this time around.

Privacy, Rewards, and Data: The Stahili Pitch

At its core, Stahili offers a relatively simple premise: consumers complete short, fun surveys and get rewarded with mobile data or cashback. If the app sounds familiar to anyone who’s ever participated in online market research, that’s probably because it’s not the first platform of its kind. What Stahili hopes to bring to the table is a more user-friendly experience combined with an emphasis on privacy. 

The app features a “Scan to Earn” model where users can scan QR codes, take a survey, and immediately receive rewards. If you’re a Kenyan user, for example, scanning your KRA (Kenya Revenue Authority) receipt could unlock a reward, giving you an instant cashback or mobile data for future use. Stahili markets this as a win-win for both consumers and brands, providing a secure platform where consumers can engage without the threat of their data being sold off to third-party advertisers.

While it’s hard to dispute the appeal of instant rewards, one might wonder how Stahili plans to sustain its model, especially given the challenges of monetizing data without compromising on privacy. The founders seem to be betting on a growing desire for privacy-respecting engagement in a world where consumers are increasingly aware of the value of their personal data. Whether that bet will pay off remains to be seen.

Copia’s Fall: The “Inspiration” for Stahili’s Rise

To understand Stahili, one must first look at Copia, which was touted as the next big thing in African e-commerce before it collapsed. Launched in 2013, Copia was intended to disrupt the rural e-commerce market by connecting rural customers with essential goods through a vast network of agents. By 2024, however, Copia was facing severe financial struggles, laying off over 1,000 employees and eventually going into liquidation.

Despite raising over $100 million from high-profile investors like Enza Capital, LGT, and Goodwell Investments, Copia was unable to overcome structural challenges in its business model. Its grand vision to bring e-commerce to rural areas clashed with the harsh realities of low consumer spending power, unreliable infrastructure, and logistical challenges.

The decision to pivot from an e-commerce company to a reward-based survey platform appears to reflect a strategic shift in focus. While Copia aimed to tackle the broader e-commerce landscape, Stahili takes a more targeted approach, offering users rewards for their engagement with surveys. This change in direction suggests a more focused model that seeks to meet specific consumer needs.

Will It Stick? The Market for Survey Data is Not New

While the market for reward-based surveys is nothing new, the question remains whether Stahili can carve out a sustainable business model in a crowded field. African startups like Rwazi and Safiyo have already established a foothold in the African data collection space, offering mobile-first solutions to gather consumer insights. While Stahili’s focus on privacy could differentiate it from its competitors, it will need to prove that it can scale its operations and offer enough rewards to keep consumers engaged long-term.

For now, Stahili seems content to be a small but growing player in the survey-tech sector. It has the potential to expand its user base, especially with its focus on mobile data rewards — a huge draw in a continent where mobile internet access is often more common than fixed broadband.

However, the founders’ previous experience with Copia provides important context. After raising millions and pursuing an ambitious vision, Copia ultimately faced significant challenges that led to its closure. This raises questions about the sustainability of Stahili — will this new venture succeed where Copia faced difficulties, or is it another example of a startup shifting focus after a more ambitious venture didn’t materialize as planned?

Stahili’s user-first approach certainly taps into a growing demand for secure, rewarding online experiences. Whether it can scale without the financial or logistical headaches that Copia faced is another question entirely.