Nigerian Profitable Food Delivery Chowdeck Lands $9m From Novastar, Y Combinator

Chowdeck, a Lagos-based nutrient transportation startup that has stayed profitable successful a notoriously reliable and low-margin market, has raised $9 cardinal successful Series A backing to motorboat a speedy commerce strategy and grow into much cities successful Nigeria and Ghana.

The equity information was led by Novastar Ventures, pinch information from Y Combinator, AAIC Investment, Rebel Fund, GFR Fund, Kaleo, HoaQ, and others. The investors are betting connected nan team’s expertise to brace section marketplace expertise pinch execution and move a notoriously difficult assemblage into a profitable ace app for food, groceries and essentials.

“We’re thrilled astir this information arsenic it brings america person to our imagination of becoming Africa’s number 1 ace app,” CEO and co-founder Femi Aluko said. “This backing will supercharge our maturation plans, enabling america to grow into much cities, trim transportation times, standard our market footprint, and pull nan champion talent to thrust invention and customer satisfaction.”

Founded successful October 2021 by Aluko, Olumide Ojo, and Lanre Yusuf, Chowdeck now operates successful 11 cities crossed Nigeria and Ghana, serving 1.5 cardinal customers pinch a web of much than 20,000 riders. Its logistics strategy averages 30 minutes per order, and successful dense areas, much than half of deliveries get by bicycle.

The caller backing will thief Chowdeck rotation retired speedy commerce, ultra-fast transportation backed by a web of acheronian stores and hyperlocal logistics hubs. The institution plans to unfastened 40 acheronian stores by nan extremity of this twelvemonth and 500 by nan extremity of 2026, pinch 2 to 3 caller stores launching each week. Chowdeck raised a $2.5 million seed information past year.

Image Credits:Chowdeck

Food transportation is simply a crowded business globally, but erstwhile done well, it has led to immoderate different large companies for illustration DoorDash.

Quick commerce, connected nan different hand, has been a capital-intensive bet successful astir markets. In Europe, Gorillas and Getir burned done hundreds of millions of dollars earlier retreating aliases consolidating. In India, platforms for illustration Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy person had varying levels of occurrence pinch nan exemplary erstwhile it comes to profitability.

Chowdeck has been profitable since earlier this raise and Aluko says nan institution doesn’t participate cities aliases verticals without readying to break moreover wrong a mates of weeks.

For instance, nan nutrient transportation level entered neighbouring Ghana this May. Within 3 months, it was handling 1,000 regular orders without paid advertising, which, according to Aluko, came from pent-up request for a work that delivers section favorites alongside world cuisines. The institution intends to quintuple that measurement to 5,000 regular orders by nan extremity of September 2025.

Aluko says Chowdeck plans to use nan aforesaid playbook to acheronian stores, which will complement its edifice and market transportation operations.

Another vertical complementing these operations will beryllium software. This June, the YC-backed startup acquired Mira, a point-of-sale supplier for African nutrient and hospitality businesses. Mira’s devices negociate inventory and orders successful existent time; now, it will thief Chowdeck optimize its operations, positioning nan institution arsenic a vertical SaaS-plus-logistics supplier for restaurants.

Chowdeck’s raise is simply a triumph for section players successful nan sector, after Jumia’s exit near marketplace stock to overseas brands specified arsenic Glovo, Bolt Food, and Yango. Yet, some of these companies person besides withdrawn from definite markets, including Nigeria and Ghana, which Chowdeck is now targeting aggressively.

Super apps specified arsenic Gozem, YC-backed Yassir, and MNT-Halan are different section companies offering nutrient transportation services successful different African markets.

“The marketplace is still very early,” Aluko said. “Customer behaviour is shifting online for nan first time. A full procreation is increasing up ordering nutrient without ever having walked into immoderate of nan restaurants aliases markets connected our platform.”

For lead investor Novastar Ventures, nan stake is connected execution and section insight. “Chowdeck is building nan early of logistics for African cities,” said partner Brian Waswani Odhiambo. “With heavy section insight, a sustainability-first approach, and awesome execution, it is redefining last-mile transportation connected nan continent.”