Chowdeck, a Lagos-based meals supply startup that has stayed worthwhile in a notoriously powerful and low-margin market, has raised $9 million in Sequence A funding to launch a fast commerce technique and develop 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 tough sector right into a worthwhile tremendous app for meals, groceries and necessities.
“We’re thrilled about this round as it brings us closer to our vision of becoming Africa’s number one super app,” CEO and co-founder Femi Aluko stated. “This funding will supercharge our growth plans, enabling us to expand into more cities, reduce delivery times, scale our grocery footprint, and attract the best talent to drive innovation and customer 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 clients 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.
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 tip of this 12 months and 500 by the tip 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 nicely, it has led to another huge corporations like DoorDash.
Fast commerce, alternatively, has been a capital-intensive gamble in most markets. In Europe, Gorillas and Getir burned by way of lots of of tens of millions 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 the case of profitability.
Techcrunch occasion
San Francisco
|
October 27-29, 2025
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.
As an illustration, the meals supply platform entered neighbouring Ghana this Could. Inside three months, it was dealing with 1,000 each day orders with out paid promoting, which, based on Aluko, got here from pent-up demand for a service that delivers native favorites alongside worldwide cuisines. The corporate goals to quintuple that quantity to five,000 each day orders by the tip of September 2025.
Aluko says Chowdeck plans to use the identical playbook to darkish shops, which is able to complement its restaurant and grocery supply operations.
One other vertical complementing these operations will likely 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 can 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 akin to 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 concentrating on aggressively.
Tremendous apps akin to Gozem, YC-backed Yassir, and MNT-Halan are different native corporations providing meals supply providers in different African markets.
“The market is still very early,” Aluko stated. “Customer behavior is shifting online for the first time. A whole generation is growing up ordering food without ever having walked into some of the restaurants or markets on our platform.”
For lead investor Novastar Ventures, the wager is on execution and native perception. “Chowdeck is building the future of logistics for African cities,” stated accomplice Brian Waswani Odhiambo. “With deep local insight, a sustainability-first approach, and impressive execution, it is redefining last-mile delivery on the continent.”
