Chowdeck, Nigeria’s on-demand delivery service, has secured $2.5 million in seed funding to optimize its operations and support expansion into more cities across the country.
According to a statement from the company, the seed funding round includes investment from YCombinator, Goodwater Capital, FounderX Ventures, Hoaq Fund, Levare Ventures, True Culture Funds and Haleakala Ventures.
Other participants in the round are Simon Borrero and Juan Pablo Ortega (co-founders of Rappi – Latin America’s largest online delivery platform), Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi (co-founders of Paystack, Sudeep Ramani (Sportybet), Ayo Arikawe (Thrive Agric) and Karthik Ramakrishnan (Amazon).
Since launching in October 2021 after the COVID-19 lockdown in Lagos, Chowdeck has acquired more than 500,000 users and more than 3,000 riders (typically earning the same as senior civil servants in Nigeria) that serve eight Nigerian cities (Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Port-Harcourt, Ilorin, Benin City, Abeokuta, and Asaba), the firm said .
It noted that this new funding will enable the startup to double down on its market leadership in these cities and lay the groundwork for further expansion into other Nigerian cities.
The food delivery industry in Nigeria today boasts several players including the likes of Glovo, FoodCourt, ChopTown, and many others.
What they are saying
Commenting on the fundraising, CEO and co-founder of Chowdeck, Femi Aluko, said:
- “We know that Nigerians love good food, and we just want to make it as easy as possible for them to access the food they desire. Chowdeck was birthed to fulfill this purpose and we are committed to delivering truly excellent experiences for our customers, vendors, and riders.
- “We are pleased with the success we have achieved to date and excited to have raised these funds that will enable us to replicate that success in more parts of Nigeria and add value to our customers, vendors, and riders in as many ways as we can.”
In his comments, one of the angel investors in the round, CEO and co-founder of Paystack, Shola Akinlade, said:
- “Chowdeck is not only addressing the crucial need for an efficient and reliable on-demand delivery service in Nigeria, but the team also embodies innovation and a commitment to excellence. It is a privilege to be part of their journey and I look forward to celebrating more success with them in months and years to come.
- “Apart from investing financially into the company, our experience with building Paystack puts us in a great position to provide a lot of practical support and I am excited to see what it is to come from the Chowdeck team.”
Expressing confidence in investment made in Chowdeck, Partner at Levare Ventures, June Angelides, said Chowdeck is addressing a large and complicated problem, especially in Africa, delivering goods at record speed.
- I am excited that they have proven that the opportunity is there beyond restaurants and supermarkets,” Angelides added.
Driven by a combination of increased smartphone and internet penetration, improved payment systems, evolving consumer preferences, and a range of other factors, there has been significant growth in on-demand delivery services in Nigeria in recent years.
For example, heavy traffic in major cities makes it challenging for people to shop for groceries, meals, or other goods, increasing the attractiveness of delivery services that can save time. This growth trajectory is poised to continue as many of the challenges that hampered previous attempts at providing on-demand delivery services are fixed.
