WiseA launch for Lagos -based food delivery, which has remained profitable in a famous hard and low margin market, has raised $ 9 million in funding in Series A to launch a fast trade strategy and expand to more cities in Nigeria.
The shares tour was led by Novastar Ventures, with the participation of Y Combinator, AAIC investment, Rebel Fund, GFR Fund, Kaleo, Hoaq and others. Investors bet on the team’s ability to combine local market know -how with execution and turn a well -known difficult sector into a profitable super application for food, grocery stores and basics.
“We are excited about this round as it brings us closer to our vision to become the first application of Africa,” the CEO and the co -founder Femi aluko he said. “This funding will overload our development plans, allowing us to expand into more cities, reduce delivery times, scale our grocery footprint, and attract the best talent to promote innovation and customer satisfaction.”
Founded in October 2021 by Aluko, Ojo alloyAnd Lanre Yusuf, Chowdeck now operates in 11 cities across Nigeria and Ghana, serving 1.5 million customers with a network of more than 20,000 riders. Its logistics system calculate on average 30 minutes per order and in dense areas, more than half of the deliveries arrive by bike.
While prominent players have abandoned or reduced their African businesses, Chowdeck has supported the complexity of local markets – violating local meals, a business challenge – to build confidence with customers.
In 2024, the value of the meals delivered through Chowdeck increased more than six times since the previous year. This year, the company says it spent its total 2024 before July.
The new funding will help Chowdeck unfold fast trade, the extremely fast delivery supported by a network of dark shops and luxurious logistics. The company plans to open 40 dark stores by the end of this year and 500 by the end of 2026, with two to three new stores starting each week. Chowdeck put a $ 2.5 million seed round last year.
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Food delivery is a full business worldwide, but when it is done, it has led to some other big companies such as Doordash.
The Quick Commerce, on the other hand, has been a strong capital bet on most markets. In Europe, Gorillas and gorillas burns through hundreds of millions of dollars before retreating or consolidating. In India, platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy had different levels of success with the model when it comes to profitability.
Chowdeck was profitable before this raise and Aluko says the company does not enter cities or verticals without planning to break even in a few weeks.
For example, the food delivery platform entered the neighboring Ghana in May. Within three months, handled 1,000 daily orders No paid advertising, which, according to Aluko, comes from the delicious demand for a service that provides locally favorites alongside international cuisines. The company aims to throw the volume on 5,000 daily orders by the end of September 2025.
Aluko says Chowdeck is planning to apply the same playbook to dark stores, which will complete restaurant and grocery delivery work.
Another vertical completion of these functions will be software. In June, Starting supported by YC acquired MiraA sales provider for African food and hospitality companies. Mira’s tools manage stocks and orders in real time. Now, it will help Chowdeck optimize its activities by placing the company as a vertical provider of Saas-Plus-Logistics for restaurants.
The increase in Chowdeck is a victory for local players in the field after Jumia’s exit, Jumia’s exit has left the market share in foreign brands such as Glovo, Bolt Food and Yango. Yet, Some of these companies have also been withdrawn by some purchasesIncluding Nigeria and Ghana, which Chowdeck is now aiming aggressively.
Super applications such as Gozem, YCS-Backed Yassir and MNT-Halan are other local companies that offer food delivery services to other African markets.
“The market is still too early,” Aluko said. “Customer behavior shifts online for the first time. A whole generation grows up by ordering food without ever walking in some of the restaurants or markets on our platform.”
For the leading investor Novastar Ventures, the bet is in execution and local insight. “Chowdeck is building the future of logistics for African cities,” said partner Brian Waswani Odhiambo. “With deep local insight, a first viability approach and impressive execution, redefines the tradition of the last mile in Epirus.”
