Chowdeck, a Nigerian on-demand delivery service, has secured $2.5 million in seed funding.
THE INVESTORS
The round got participation from investors and angel investors alike
Investors such as
- FounderX Ventures,
- True Culture Funds,
- Hoaq Fund,
- Levare Ventures,
- Haleakala Ventures,
- YCombinator,
- Goodwater Capital, and
- True Culture Funds
and angel investors including
- Ayo Arikawe, Co-founder and CTO of Thrive Agric;
- Shola Akinlade, Co-founder and CEO of Paystack;
- Ezra Olubi, Co-founder and CTO of Paystack;
- Sudeep Ramani, Founder of Sportybet;
- Karthik Ramakrishnan (Amazon);
- Simon Borrero and Juan Pablo Ortega, co-founders of Rappi.
About Chowdeck
Co-founder and CEO Femi Aluko, was a former principal engineer at Paystack.
He founded the startup in October 2021, being inspired by the speed of food delivery services he witnessed during a visit to Dubai.
Chowdeck connects food vendors with consumers.
It allows customers to order meals from a variety of restaurants and have it delivered to their doorstep.
Chowdeck has added 200,000 users in the last six months bringing its growth to 500,000 users in eight Nigerian cities.
Reiterating the startup’s commitment to excellence in food delivery, Chowdeck’s CEO said;
“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 fulfill this purpose, and we are committed to delivering truly excellent experiences for our customers, vendors, and riders,”
Unlike its competitors, who often subsidise delivery fees, Chowdeck charges higher, ensuring it makes no loss on any transaction.
Aluko is however not worried that the higher charges may discourage users.
He insists that Chowdeck exists to solve the convenience problem.
“Think of someone who wants to save an extra 30 minutes going to the restaurant; that is Chowdeck’s ideal customer.” He said.
Currently, Chowdeck processes 14,000 deliveries daily and boasts of a 1,000% year-on-year growth.
The CEO also pointed out that the system delivers satisfaction to both riders and users.
He said, “Chowdeck is not the cheapest delivery platform. We charge customers what we think a delivery is worth and pay riders almost the same amount,”
The startup currently has 3,000 riders, some of whom earn as much as ₦400,000 ($343) monthly, 13 times the national minimum wage.
Last year the startup signed exclusive deals with Nigeria’s largest QSR brand, Chicken Republic, and then added Shoprite to the list.
Chowdeck said it will use the new funding to strengthen its position in the Nigerian market and scale its services to more Nigerian cities before the end of 2024 .