Nigerian profitable food delivery ChowDeck lands $ 9 million from Novastar, Y Combinator | Techcrunch

ChowdeckA Lagos-based startup of food delivery that has remained profitable in a notoriously tough and low margin market has collected $ 9 million in Series A-financing to launch a quick trade strategy and expand it to more cities in Nigeria and Ghana.

The stock round was led by Novastar Ventures, with the participation of Y Combinator, Aaic Investment, Rebel Fund, GFR Fund, Kaleo, Hoaq and others. The investors bet on the team’s ability to link the expertise of the local market to the implementation and to make a notoriously difficult sector in a profitable super app for food, groceries and essential matters.

“We are very happy with this round, because it brings us closer to our vision to become the number one super-app of Africa,” CEO and co-founder Femi Aluko said. “This financing will overload our growing plans, allowing us to expand to more cities, reduce delivery times, scale our supermarket footprint and attract the best talent to stimulate innovation and customer satisfaction.”

Founded in October 2021 by Aluko, Rainer RealerAnd Lanre Yusuf, Chowdeck is now active in 11 cities in Nigeria and Ghana, with 1.5 million customers with a network of more than 20,000 riders. The logistics system is on average 30 minutes per order and in dense areas more than half of the deliveries arrive by bicycle.

Although prominent players have abandoned or reduced their African activities, ChowDeck has introduced itself in the complexity of local markets – providing local meals, an operational more difficult challenge – to build trust among customers.

In 2024 the value of meals that were delivered via Chowdeck grew more than six -time from the previous year. This year the company says that it has passed on its 2024 in total before July.

The new financing will help Chowdeck to roll out fast trade, ultrasnelle delivery, supported by a network of dark stores and hyperlocal logistics hubs. The company is planning to open 40 dark stores by the end of this year and 500 by the end of 2026, with two to three new stores that are launched every week. Chowdeck collected a $ 2.5 million seed round last year.

Food delivery is a busy company worldwide, but if it is done well, it has led to other large companies such as Doordash.

Fast trade, on the other hand, has been a capital -intensive gamble in most markets. In Europe, Gorillas and bitter Burned by hundreds of millions of dollars before they withdraw or consolidate. In India, platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy have had different levels of success with the model when it comes to profitability.

Chowdeck has been profitable since then and Aluko says that the company does not enter cities or verticals without going to break even within a few weeks.

For example the Food Delivery Platform the neighboring Ghana entered in May. Within three months, It was handled 1,000 daily orders Without paid advertisements, which, according to Aluko, came from the demand for a service that provides local favorites alongside international kitchens. The company wants volume to reach 5,000 daily orders by the end of September 2025 to 5,000 daily orders.

Aluko says that ChowDeck is planning to apply the same Playbook to dark stores, which will supplement his restaurant and shopping delivery activities.

Another vertical addition to these operations will be software. In June, The YC-Stunder Startup has taken over MiraA point-of-sale provider for African food and catering establishments. Mira’s tools manage inventory and orders in real time; Now the Chowdeck will help optimize its activities and the company positions as a vertical SaaS-Plus-Logistics Provider for restaurants.

Chowdeck’s Rais is a victory for local players in the sector, after Jumia’s Exit had left market share to foreign brands such as Glovo, Bolt Food and Yango. Yet, Some of these companies have withdrawn of certain marketsIncluding Nigeria and Ghana, who is now aiming for Chowdeck.

Super apps such as Gozem, YC-Stunder Yassir and MNT-HALAN are other local companies that offer food delivery services on other African markets.

“The market is still very early,” said Aluko. “Customer behavior is shifting online for the first time. A whole generation is growing up with ordering food without ever having entered some of the restaurants or markets on our platform.”

For main investor Novastar Ventures, the bet is about implementation and local insight. “Chowdeck is building the future of Logistics for African cities,” said partner Brian Waswani Odhiambo. “With deep local insight, a sustainability-first approach and impressive implementation, it redefines the last miles delivery on the continent.”