For Kenyans who grew up in the eighties and nineties, Copy Cat was a ubiquitous brand. The company’s logo that featured two black identical cats wearing black bowties, was a familiar sight in the newspapers, while its branded vans were a common feature on the roads in major cities and towns in Kenya.
Those memories were stirred during the pandemic when one of the company’s television commercials resurfaced and went viral, trending on Facebook and compressed into the videos ‘forwarded many times’ on WhatsApp. The advertisement featured a younger Ian Mbugua, the actor who became widely known as Judge Ian from Tusker Project Fame.
While the company black cats no longer feature in advertisements, it is still around and has transformed as advances in technology resulted in office automation beyond the photocopier and the printer they were known for.
Copy Cat Group was founded in 1984 by Rajoo Patel and Nazir Noordin came together due to their shared vision of providing reliable office automation solutions and top-notch technical support to clients.
Their aim was to guarantee precision and accuracy in the industry. They chose the name ‘Copy Cat’ to reflect the exceptional quality of their photocopier solutions. Their mantra was: “Each copy produced by Copy Cat is a perfect replica, resembling the original document in every detail.”
Its work went beyond selling photocopiers to fax machines, shredders, and safes.
In 1994, 10 years after it was founded, Copy Cat embarked on an expansion plan to reach a wider regional customer base.
“The company’s innovative solutions found applications in sectors like banking systems, government data centres, sensitive security environments, and mission-critical applications,” said Nadeem Noordin, the Sales Director of Copy Cat Group.
As the Digital Age advanced, with companies that had not been preparing for the rapid advances in technology that have happened over the last two decades dropping away, Copy Cat Group changed with the times.
The company shifted from targeting individual customers directly, known in business parlance as B2C, to working directly with other businesses (B2B), which involved introducing them to the newest technology in the market.
The company expanded its portfolio to include cash-handling solutions and enterprise system integration services. This diversification allowed Copy Cat to offer a one-stop shop for all enterprise technology requirements backed by strong partnerships with leading manufacturers. Its legacy is a testament to its commitment to innovation and adaptability.
Copy Cat was among Safaricom’s first suppliers when it was established in the year 2000, and that relationship has flourished.
Learn more about Copy Cat in the video below.
