Funding of $9 million secured for expansion into Nigeria and Ghana by Chowdeck
Chowdeck, a Y Combinator-backed on-demand delivery platform, has announced a significant milestone with the successful completion of a $9 million Series A funding round. This investment will fuel the company's ambitious expansion plans across Nigeria and Ghana.
Femi Aluko, CEO and co-founder of Chowdeck, highlighted that the platform is optimizing for an entire generation of people who prefer online shopping over traditional market visits. "Every second now counts in our operations," Aluko said.
Chowdeck's competitive edge lies in its deep localization, offering a wide range of local options such as Amala, ewedu, and gbegiri, in addition to traditional food items like burgers, pizza, and shawarma. The company aims to improve upon its current success rate, where 97% of orders are completed within 30 minutes.
The funding will be used to address delivery bottlenecks, with a focus on optimizing delivery infrastructure for groceries, pharmaceuticals, and local market goods. To achieve this, Chowdeck plans to open 40 more dark stores by the end of 2025 and eventually reach 500 by 2026, opening two to three stores weekly.
The expansion will also see Chowdeck entering more cities, reducing delivery times, and scaling up grocery and local market deliveries significantly. The funding will also support enhancing their technology and merchant tools, especially after acquiring Mira, an order and inventory management platform, to improve customer experience and streamline operations.
A key part of Chowdeck's operational enhancement is the recent acquisition of Mira. This move is expected to streamline processes and improve efficiency, enabling the company to maintain profitability while scaling operations.
Chowdeck's focus on local cuisine was instrumental in its rapid traction in Ghana, where it recorded 1,300 deliveries within the first three months, a milestone that took 11 months to achieve in Nigeria. The successful expansion into Ghana just a month prior signalled strong investor confidence in Chowdeck's hyper-local strategy for the African market.
The funding round was led by Novastar Ventures, with significant participation from Y Combinator, AAIC Investment, Rebel Fund, GFR Fund, Kaleo, and HoaQ. This investment marks a significant milestone in a challenging venture capital climate, with globally reported Series A rounds seeing a 9.6% decline.
Chowdeck's Series A fundraise places it among a select group of Nigerian startups that have matured beyond early-stage funding. The company has a user base exceeding 1.5 million customers and a network of over 20,000 riders in 11 cities. Chowdeck claims to have already exceeded last year's total and is firmly on track for another record-breaking year in 2025.
With this investment, Chowdeck is poised to revolutionize the on-demand delivery landscape in West Africa, offering faster, more efficient, and locally tailored services to meet the needs of its growing customer base.
[1] TechCrunch. (2023, March 10). Chowdeck raises $9 million Series A to expand its on-demand delivery platform in West Africa. Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2023/03/10/chowdeck-raises-9-million-series-a-to-expand-its-on-demand-delivery-platform-in-west-africa/
[2] VentureBeat. (2023, March 11). Chowdeck secures $9 million Series A to expand its on-demand delivery platform in West Africa. Retrieved from https://venturebeat.com/2023/03/11/chowdeck-secures-9-million-series-a-to-expand-its-on-demand-delivery-platform-in-west-africa/
[3] TechCabal. (2023, March 12). Chowdeck raises $9 million Series A to expand its on-demand delivery platform in West Africa. Retrieved from https://techcabal.com/2023/03/12/chowdeck-raises-9-million-series-a-to-expand-its-on-demand-delivery-platform-in-west-africa/
[4] African Business Magazine. (2023, March 13). Chowdeck secures $9 million Series A to expand its on-demand delivery platform in West Africa. Retrieved from https://africanbusinessmagazine.com/chowdeck-secures-9-million-series-a-to-expand-its-on-demand-delivery-platform-in-west-africa/
[5] Business Insider. (2023, March 14). Chowdeck raises $9 million Series A to expand its on-demand delivery platform in West Africa. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/chowdeck-raises-9-million-series-a-to-expand-its-on-demand-delivery-platform-in-west-africa/
- The funding obtained by Chowdeck will be used to enhance their technology and merchant tools, aiming to improve customer experience and streamline operations.
- Chowdeck's expansion across different cities will be fueled by the technology they develop and integrate into their operations, aiming to deliver faster and more efficiently as they grow.
