Worthwhile Nigerian meals supply Chowdeck lands $9M from Novastar, Y Combinator

Chowdeck, a Lagos-based meals supply startup that has stayed worthwhile in a notoriously robust and low-margin market, has raised $9 million in Collection A funding to launch a fast commerce technique and broaden into extra cities in Nigeria and Ghana.

The fairness spherical was led by Novastar Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator, AAIC Funding, Insurgent Fund, GFR Fund, Kaleo, HoaQ, and others. The traders are betting on the crew’s skill to pair native market experience with execution and switch a notoriously troublesome sector right into a worthwhile tremendous app for meals, groceries and necessities.

“We’re thrilled about this spherical because it brings us nearer to our imaginative and prescient of changing into Africa’s primary tremendous app,” CEO and co-founder Femi Aluko stated. “This funding will supercharge our progress plans, enabling us to broaden into extra cities, cut back supply instances, scale our grocery footprint, and appeal to one of the best expertise to drive innovation and buyer satisfaction.”

Based in October 2021 by Aluko, Olumide Ojo, and Lanre Yusuf, Chowdeck now operates in 11 cities throughout Nigeria and Ghana, serving 1.5 million prospects with a community of greater than 20,000 riders. Its logistics system averages half-hour per order, and in dense areas, greater than half of deliveries arrive by bicycle.

Whereas outstanding gamers have exited or scaled again their African operations, Chowdeck has leaned into the complexity of native markets — delivering native meals, an operationally more durable problem — to construct belief with prospects.

In 2024, the worth of meals delivered by Chowdeck grew greater than sixfold from the earlier 12 months. This 12 months, the corporate says it handed its 2024 complete earlier than July.

The brand new funding will assist Chowdeck roll out fast commerce, ultra-fast supply backed by a community of darkish shops and hyperlocal logistics hubs. The corporate plans to open 40 darkish shops by the top of this 12 months and 500 by the top of 2026, with two to a few new shops launching every week. Chowdeck raised a $2.5 million seed spherical final 12 months.

Meals supply is a crowded enterprise globally, however when completed effectively, it has led to another huge corporations, like DoorDash.

Fast commerce, then again, has been a capital-intensive gamble in most markets. In Europe, Gorillas and Getir burned by a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} earlier than retreating or consolidating. In India, platforms like Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy have had various ranges of success with the mannequin in terms of profitability.

Chowdeck has been worthwhile since earlier than this increase and Aluko says the corporate doesn’t enter cities or verticals with out planning to interrupt even inside a few weeks.

For example, the meals supply platform entered neighboring Ghana this Might. Inside three months, it was dealing with 1,000 every day orders with out paid promoting, which, in response to Aluko, got here from pent-up demand for a service that delivers native favorites alongside worldwide delicacies. The corporate goals to quintuple that quantity to five,000 every day orders by the top of September 2025.

Aluko says Chowdeck plans to use the identical playbook to darkish shops, which can complement its restaurant and grocery supply operations.

One other vertical complementing these operations shall be software program. This June, the YC-backed startup acquired Mira, a point-of-sale supplier for African meals and hospitality companies. Mira’s instruments handle stock and orders in actual time; now, it should assist Chowdeck optimize its operations, positioning the corporate as a vertical SaaS-plus-logistics supplier for eating places.

Chowdeck’s increase is a win for native gamers within the sector, after Jumia’s exit left market share to international manufacturers reminiscent of Glovo, Bolt Meals, and Yango. But, a few of these corporations have additionally withdrawn from sure markets, together with Nigeria and Ghana, which Chowdeck is now focusing on aggressively.

Tremendous apps reminiscent of Gozem, YC-backed Yassir, and MNT-Halan are different native corporations providing meals supply providers in different African markets.

“The market continues to be very early,” Aluko stated. “Buyer habits is shifting on-line for the primary time. A complete era is rising up ordering meals with out ever having walked into a number of the eating places or markets on our platform.”

For lead investor Novastar Ventures, the guess is on execution and native perception. “Chowdeck is constructing the way forward for logistics for African cities,” stated associate Brian Waswani Odhiambo. “With deep native perception, a sustainability-first method, and spectacular execution, it’s redefining last-mile supply on the continent.”