Chowdeck, one of the most prominent food delivery startups in Nigeria, has recently secured funding of $2.5 million to carry out its services and reach the advanced level. Y Combinator is backing the company and enabling it to deal with the challenges of the food delivery landscape in Nigeria. In this way, it can establish its worth in the market and pocket more significant outcomes in a shorter period.
Nigerian Food Delivery Market
The food delivery market in Nigeria is growing continuously and it is estimated that it can reach the mark of $2 billion to $3 billion by the end of 2032. While this is a huge potential, the market is still facing several challenges because of the lack of a proper leader. Previously, Jumia and Bolt have struggled greatly to manage the profitability mark.
Founding Team and Inspiration
A group of three experienced marketers Olumide Ojo, Lanre Yusuf, and Femi Aluko has founded Chowdeck. Aluko is the main person who got the inspiration to launch this enterprise when he was working with an efficient food delivery service in Dubai. He found that the same service is working at a relatively slower pace in Nigeria.
Early Growth and Operations
In the beginning, Chowdeck launched its activities with only a few bikes and a partnership of two restaurants. With time, it has expanded its network to more than 3,000 riders and 500,000 users. Among them, 100,000 are active every month. This platform is now promising to deliver the package within an average of 30 minutes.
Competitive Landscape
Chowdeck has the support of the potential of two well-known players such as Jumia and Bolt Food. Nevertheless, it is now managing to develop a niche for itself by focusing specifically on positive unit economics and minimizing the discounts.
Business Model and Sustainability
Chowdeck has designed its business model while keeping sustainability under view. It avoids heavy discounts and relies on the commissions received from restaurants, occasional charges, and service fees. In this way, it is maintaining the profitability margin.
Expansion and Future Plans
The recent funding is putting the Chowdeck to expand its services across Nigeria. The company is operating in eight different cities. TechCrunch has revealed that the company has seen an increase of 140% in the GMV or gross merchandise value as compared to 2023.
The company is now looking forward to managing the challenges present in the food delivery market related to issues of infrastructure and profit margins. Also, it is unlocking the marketing potential to make the online shopping experience more dynamic and deliver exceptional outcomes to the users.
By utilizing the funding in a proper manner in the Nigerian food delivery system, Chowdeck is making its way into the market for quick deliveries, customer services, and sustainable business models. Hence, it can become one of the significant giants in this industry.
