By 
Chowdeck CEO Femi Aluko
Chowdeck, a Nigerian on-demand delivery platform, has successfully raised $2.5 million in seed funding to accelerate its expansion into additional cities across Nigeria.
RELATED: Konga Food joins Nigeria’s online food delivery industry
Approaching its third year of operation, Chowdeck has surpassed ₦2.4 billion in monthly Gross Merchandise Value (GMV).
With a daily delivery volume exceeding 14,000 orders and a network of 6,000 riders serving over 500,000 users, Chowdeck aims to consolidate its leadership position in current markets before venturing into new cities.
The seed funding round saw participation from notable investors such as YCombinator, Goodwater Capital, FounderX Ventures, Hoaq Fund, Levare Ventures, True Culture Funds, and Haleakala Ventures.
In addition to institutional investors, several prominent individuals, including Simon Borrero and Juan Pablo Ortega (co-founders of Rappi), Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi (co-founders of Paystack, acquired by Stripe for $200 million), Sudeep Ramani (Sportybet), Ayo Arikawe (Thrive Agric), and Karthik Ramakrishnan (Amazon), contributed as angel investors.
Since its launch in October 2021 following the COVID-19 lockdown in Lagos, Chowdeck has rapidly grown its user base to over 500,000 and onboarded more than 3,000 riders, who typically earn competitive wages comparable to senior civil servants in Nigeria. The platform currently operates in eight Nigerian cities, including Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Port-Harcourt, Ilorin, Benin City, Abeokuta, and Asaba.
CEO Femi Aluko emphasized the company’s commitment to ensuring prompt deliveries for its customers amidst growing demand.
While Chowdeck aims to dominate the Nigerian food and grocery market, it faces challenges from the economic downturn, which has led to the exit of some major competitors. Jumia Foods, for instance, closed shop in Nigeria and across the continent in December due to economic pressures impacting consumer spending.
