Chowdeck Raises $2.5 Million Seed Funding

Nigerian startup Chowdeck, that deals with on-demand delivery services, has secured $2.5 million in seed funding to optimize its operations and support expansion into more cities across Nigeria.

The seed funding round included investment from YCombinator, Goodwater Capital, FounderX Ventures, Hoaq Fund, Levare Ventures, True Culture Funds and Haleakala Ventures. 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 – one of Africa’s leading fintech companies. Acquired by Stripe for $200m), Sudeep Ramani (Sportybet), Ayo Arikawe (Thrive Agric) and Karthik Ramakrishnan (Amazon) also participated as angels.

Since its launch in October 2021, Chowdeck has acquired more than 500,000 users and more than 3,000 riders that serve 8 Nigerian cities (Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Port-Harcourt, Ilorin, Benin City, Abeokuta, and Asaba). 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.

There has been a significant growth in on-demand delivery services in Nigeria, driven by a combination of increased smartphone usage and internet penetration. 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.

“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 fulfil 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,” Femi Aluko, CEO and co-founder of Chowdeck, said.

“Chowdeck has quickly become a household name across Nigeria, priding itself on very high standards of execution. They are 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. The team have secured landmark partnerships with Shoprite, Chicken Republic and KFC, a sign of their grit. Their customers love them, their riders love them. There’s so much more to come and I’m excited to be with them on the journey,” June Angelides, Partner at Levare Ventures, said.