diff --git a/api/Dockerfile b/api/Dockerfile
index 09fea5b43..47d4aebe9 100644
--- a/api/Dockerfile
+++ b/api/Dockerfile
@@ -81,10 +81,6 @@ ENV PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=1
 ENV PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
 ARG PIP_NO_CACHE_DIR=1
 
-COPY --from=builder /venv /venv
-# emulate activation by prefixing PATH
-ENV PATH="/venv/bin:$PATH"
-
 RUN set -eux; \
   apk add --no-cache \
   bash \
@@ -103,6 +99,10 @@ RUN set -eux; \
   py3-watchfiles=0.18.1-r0 \
   python3
 
+COPY --from=builder /venv /venv
+# emulate activation by prefixing PATH
+ENV PATH="/venv/bin:$PATH"
+
 COPY . /app
 WORKDIR /app
 
diff --git a/changes/changelog.d/improve-docker-layer-caching.enhancement b/changes/changelog.d/improve-docker-layer-caching.enhancement
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c89657f9a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changes/changelog.d/improve-docker-layer-caching.enhancement
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Improve docker caching