Nigerian Meal Delivery Service Secures $9 Million in Series A Investment
Chowdeck, a food delivery startup, has secured $9 million in Series A funding, led by Novastar Ventures, to fuel its quick commerce strategy and expand its physical presence in Nigeria and Ghana.
The startup, founded by Femi Aluko, Olumide Ojo, and Lanre Yusuf in 2021, aims to redefine last-mile delivery on the continent by rapidly deploying dark stores across urban areas. Dark stores are small, strategically located warehouses dedicated to quick order fulfillment, a major shift from Chowdeck's earlier, infrastructure-light model.
Chowdeck's quick commerce strategy is centred on delivering meals, groceries, and essentials more quickly. The company plans to open 40 new dark stores in Nigeria by the end of 2025 and targets a total of 500 stores by 2026 to support ultra-fast delivery under 20-30 minutes.
The expansion is supported by new technology investments, including the recent acquisition of Mira, a point-of-sale system provider, to improve merchant tools and customer experience. Chowdeck plans careful, break-even-focused city expansions, opening two to three stores weekly during this scale-up phase.
Chowdeck entered Ghana in May 2022 and within three months reached 1,000 daily orders without paid ads, signalling strong traction in its first market outside Nigeria. Currently, Chowdeck operates in 11 cities across Nigeria and Ghana, serving 1.5 million customers with more than 20,000 riders.
In dense areas, over half of Chowdeck's deliveries arrive by bicycle, demonstrating the startup's commitment to environmentally friendly practices. In fact, the value of meals delivered by Chowdeck grew more than sixfold from the previous year in 2024, and the company aims to quintuple its daily order volume to 5,000 by the end of September 2025.
The equity round also saw participation from Y Combinator, AAIC Investment, Rebel Fund, GFR Fund, Kaleo, HoaQ, and others. This year, Chowdeck has surpassed its 2024 total before July, signalling a promising growth trajectory for the startup.
With this fresh infusion of capital, Chowdeck will expand service coverage and accelerate entry into underserved cities, bringing its ultra-fast delivery service to more customers across Nigeria and Ghana. The company is set to roll out its quick commerce strategy aimed at speeding up grocery and local market deliveries.
Technology investments, such as the recent acquisition of Mira, a point-of-sale system provider, are crucial for Chowdeck to improve merchant tools and enhance customer experience, supporting its expansion and ultra-fast delivery strategy. To fuel its quick commerce strategy, Chowdeck aims to implement and leverage technology innovations across its operations in Nigeria and Ghana.
