Sector:
E-commerce
Country:
USA / Kenya
Year
2024
Short Description
Kapu is on a mission to fight the cost of everyday living by building the leading B2C e-commerce platform of products & services for Africa’s Mass Market consumers. Kapu employs a beachhead strategy, focusing on a few neighborhoods in Nairobi to optimize operations quickly and deeply. The company targets urban and peri-urban middle- to low-income consumers, aiming to reduce the cost of essential goods through a tech-driven direct-to-consumer model. Kapu’s value proposition lies in offering lower prices via bulk purchasing and reducing intermediaries, addressing a core challenge of building trust among price-sensitive consumers while managing logistics in fragmented urban environments
Founders
Sam Chappatte
,
Co-founder & CEO
Cyrus Onyiego
,
Co-founder & COO
Why we invested
Kapu reflects our conviction that the most interesting commerce models emerge where infrastructure is constrained, not abundant. By combining neighbourhood-based distribution with efficient logistics, Kapu lowers the cost of everyday essentials while strengthening local retail ecosystems. Built by operators who deeply understand African e-commerce, Kapu is scaling a model that is both economically sound and structurally resilient. Its ambition, execution, and real-world relevance make it a natural fit for our portfolio.
Founder Story
Sam Chappatte
,
Co-founder & CEO
Sam grew up in London, where service businesses dominated and entrepreneurship “was not a thing.” The idea of building something from scratch was not part of everyday life. Drawn to places where the rules were still being written, he joined BCG’s Africa team, then moved to Jumia (unicorn) in its early days. Leading expansion into six countries gave him a ground‑level view of how people actually buy, sell, and survive, and convinced him that he wanted to spend his life building in Africa.
Over thirteen years in the ecosystem, Sam watched multiple waves of founders and capital test models, fail, and adjust. He saw informal retail (over 90% of African retail and 40% of GDP) remain fragmented, inefficient, and largely untouched by technology.
The ecosystem matured, but for small shopkeepers and mass-market consumers, daily reality changed slowly. Operating between the boardroom and the street, he learned that timing, stamina, and learning loops mattered more than big narratives.
Kapu is his answer to that. The company is rolling up informal convenience retail to build the largest controlled retail network in Africa, creating a direct, high-frequency relationship with mass‑market consumers. They are helping people save money on what they buy every day while making it easier for small shops to earn more. In addition, Kapu is developing a platform of services for both customers and SMEs, tailored to the realities of how life and business actually operate on the ground.
Sam grew up in London, where service businesses dominated and entrepreneurship “was not a thing.” The idea of building something from scratch was not part of everyday life. Drawn to places where the rules were still being written, he joined BCG’s Africa team, then moved to Jumia (unicorn) in its early days. Leading expansion into six countries gave him a ground‑level view of how people actually buy, sell, and survive, and convinced him that he wanted to spend his life building in Africa.
Over thirteen years in the ecosystem, Sam watched multiple waves of founders and capital test models, fail, and adjust. He saw informal retail (over 90% of African retail and 40% of GDP) remain fragmented, inefficient, and largely untouched by technology.
The ecosystem matured, but for small shopkeepers and mass-market consumers, daily reality changed slowly. Operating between the boardroom and the street, he learned that timing, stamina, and learning loops mattered more than big narratives.
Kapu is his answer to that. The company is rolling up informal convenience retail to build the largest controlled retail network in Africa, creating a direct, high-frequency relationship with mass‑market consumers. They are helping people save money on what they buy every day while making it easier for small shops to earn more. In addition, Kapu is developing a platform of services for both customers and SMEs, tailored to the realities of how life and business actually operate on the ground.
Sector:
E-commerce
Country:
USA / Kenya
Year
2024
Short Description
Kapu is on a mission to fight the cost of everyday living by building the leading B2C e-commerce platform of products & services for Africa’s Mass Market consumers. Kapu employs a beachhead strategy, focusing on a few neighborhoods in Nairobi to optimize operations quickly and deeply. The company targets urban and peri-urban middle- to low-income consumers, aiming to reduce the cost of essential goods through a tech-driven direct-to-consumer model. Kapu’s value proposition lies in offering lower prices via bulk purchasing and reducing intermediaries, addressing a core challenge of building trust among price-sensitive consumers while managing logistics in fragmented urban environments
Founders
Sam Chappatte
,
Co-founder & CEO
Cyrus Onyiego
,
Co-founder & COO
Why we invested
Kapu reflects our conviction that the most interesting commerce models emerge where infrastructure is constrained, not abundant. By combining neighbourhood-based distribution with efficient logistics, Kapu lowers the cost of everyday essentials while strengthening local retail ecosystems. Built by operators who deeply understand African e-commerce, Kapu is scaling a model that is both economically sound and structurally resilient. Its ambition, execution, and real-world relevance make it a natural fit for our portfolio.
Founder Story
Sam Chappatte
,
Co-founder & CEO
Sam grew up in London, where service businesses dominated and entrepreneurship “was not a thing.” The idea of building something from scratch was not part of everyday life. Drawn to places where the rules were still being written, he joined BCG’s Africa team, then moved to Jumia (unicorn) in its early days. Leading expansion into six countries gave him a ground‑level view of how people actually buy, sell, and survive, and convinced him that he wanted to spend his life building in Africa.
Over thirteen years in the ecosystem, Sam watched multiple waves of founders and capital test models, fail, and adjust. He saw informal retail (over 90% of African retail and 40% of GDP) remain fragmented, inefficient, and largely untouched by technology.
The ecosystem matured, but for small shopkeepers and mass-market consumers, daily reality changed slowly. Operating between the boardroom and the street, he learned that timing, stamina, and learning loops mattered more than big narratives.
Kapu is his answer to that. The company is rolling up informal convenience retail to build the largest controlled retail network in Africa, creating a direct, high-frequency relationship with mass‑market consumers. They are helping people save money on what they buy every day while making it easier for small shops to earn more. In addition, Kapu is developing a platform of services for both customers and SMEs, tailored to the realities of how life and business actually operate on the ground.
Sam grew up in London, where service businesses dominated and entrepreneurship “was not a thing.” The idea of building something from scratch was not part of everyday life. Drawn to places where the rules were still being written, he joined BCG’s Africa team, then moved to Jumia (unicorn) in its early days. Leading expansion into six countries gave him a ground‑level view of how people actually buy, sell, and survive, and convinced him that he wanted to spend his life building in Africa.
Over thirteen years in the ecosystem, Sam watched multiple waves of founders and capital test models, fail, and adjust. He saw informal retail (over 90% of African retail and 40% of GDP) remain fragmented, inefficient, and largely untouched by technology.
The ecosystem matured, but for small shopkeepers and mass-market consumers, daily reality changed slowly. Operating between the boardroom and the street, he learned that timing, stamina, and learning loops mattered more than big narratives.
Kapu is his answer to that. The company is rolling up informal convenience retail to build the largest controlled retail network in Africa, creating a direct, high-frequency relationship with mass‑market consumers. They are helping people save money on what they buy every day while making it easier for small shops to earn more. In addition, Kapu is developing a platform of services for both customers and SMEs, tailored to the realities of how life and business actually operate on the ground.