Nigeria’s Chowdeck, an on-demand delivery platform, has raised $2.5 million in seed funding to fuel its growth.
Chowdeck
With households in Nigeria spending nearly 60% of their income on food and the rise of online shopping, Chowdeck aims to make its mark in the space.
The platform was founded by Femi Aluko, Olumide Ojo, and Landre Yusuf to offer consumers the option of ordering food and delivering it within an average of 30 minutes.
“Ordering food in Nigeria would usually take one or two hours,” Aluko said as he described how his trip to Dubai was one of the main inspirations for launching the startup.
“But each time I ordered food during my three-month stay in Dubai, I consistently received it on time. If there were any delays, the restaurant would call me to apologize. It was impressive to see, and I wondered if we could replicate the same level of service in Nigeria.”
After first experimenting by using a few bikes and partnering with two restaurants, Aluko and his team launched the first version of their product in October 2021.
Since then, the platform has experienced significant growth, with over 3,000 riders joining and over 500,000 users.
The startup’s delivery system relies on geotagging, offering diverse vehicle options from bicycles to motorbikes and enforcing strict regulations on vendors and riders.
They also use automated processes to streamline customer-rider connections, utilizing in-house data for daily demand forecasting and required supply assessment.
$2.5M Funding And Future
As of March 2024, Chowdeck crossed ₦2.4 billion ($1.7 million) in monthly gross merchandise value (GMV), a 140% increase from the value it reached in October last year.
The company operates in eight Nigerian cities – Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Ilorin, Benin City, Abeokuta and Asada.
Chowdeck has now secured $2.5 million in seed funding to fuel its growth across Nigeria.
With the new capital, they plan to solidify its dominance in existing markets before expanding to new cities.
While immediate expansion isn’t on the cards, Aluko told Bendada their intention to enter new Nigerian cities before the year’s end.
The funding will also enable the YC-backed startup to improve its overall operations for a better delivery experience.
“We want to guarantee timely deliveries for most of our orders,” said Aluko.
The seed round attracted investment from notable backers, including YC, Goodwater Capital, FounderX Ventures, HoaQ Fund, Levare Ventures, True CUlture Funds and Haleakala Ventures.
