Nigerian on-demand food delivery startup Chowdeck has secured US$2.5 million in seed funding to optimise its operations and support expansion into more cities across the country.
Launched in October 2021, Chowdeck allows customers to order meals from a variety of restaurants and have them delivered to their doorstep within 30 minutes.
A participant in the Y Combinator accelerator in 2022, Chowdeck has acquired more than 500,000 users and more than 3,000 riders, serving eight Nigerian cities – Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Port-Harcourt, Ilorin, Benin City, Abeokuta and Asaba.
It has now banked US$2.5 million in seed funding, which will enable it to double down on its market leadership in these cities and lay the groundwork for further expansion into other Nigerian cities.
The round included investment from Y Combinator, Goodwater Capital, FounderX Ventures, Hoaq Fund, Levare Ventures, True Culture Funds and Haleakala Ventures. Simon Borrero and Juan Pablo Ortega, the co-founders of Rappi, Latin America’s largest online delivery platform; Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, co-founders of Paystack; Sudeep Ramani (Sportybet); Ayo Arikawe (Thrive Agric); and Karthik Ramakrishnan (Amazon) also participated as angels.
“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,” said Femi Aluko, CEO and co-founder of Chowdeck.
