Chowdeck, the Lagos-based food delivery startup, has raised $9 million in a Series A round led by Novastar Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator, AAIC Investment, Rebel Fund, GFR Fund, Kaleo, HoaQ and others.
The funding is earmarked to roll out a quick commerce strategy and accelerate expansion across more cities in Nigeria and Ghana.
Launched in October 2021 by Femi Aluko, Olumide Ojo and Lanre Yusuf, Chowdeck now serves 1.5 million customers across 11 cities and runs a fleet of more than 20,000 riders.
The company reports an average delivery time of approximately 30 minutes per order, and in densely urbanized areas, more than half of deliveries are completed by bicycle.
Chowdeck says the value of meals it delivered in 2024 grew more than sixfold year over year, and that it had already exceeded its entire 2024 meal volume before July of this year.
The Series A follows a $2.5 million seed round raised last year. Chowdeck is expanding into quick commerce with plans for an aggressive rollout of dark stores: 40 dark stores by the end of this year and 500 by the end of 2026, opening two to three new stores each week during that build.
The startup has also recently acquired Mira, a point-of-sale provider for African food and hospitality businesses, which will be integrated into its stack to manage inventory and orders in real time, helping to improve operational efficiency.
Also read, Chowdeck Announces Exclusive Partnership with Chicken Republic in Lagos and Ibadan
The company states that it has been profitable before this raise and aims to enter cities or verticals only where it expects to reach break-even within a couple of weeks.
Chowdeck’s entry into Ghana in May produced an early signal of demand. The startup achieved approximately 1,000 daily orders in that market within three months, without relying on advertising, and it is targeting 5,000 daily orders by the end of September 2025.
Investors are backing the team’s local market knowledge and execution orientation, betting that those strengths can build a combined food, grocery and essentials platform that competes with international entrants.
Chowdeck’s ability to remain profitable while scaling is notable. Many delivery players burn cash to chase market share, so having disciplined unit economics gives Chowdeck an advantage when capital markets tighten or rivals retreat.
Their focus on local meals, rather than only international cuisine, builds customer trust and a defensible product-market fit that foreign entrants sometimes struggle to replicate.
That said, the quick commerce plan is capital and operationally intensive. Dark stores require working capital for inventory, tight demand forecasting, and reliable local supply chains.
The acquisition of Mira is a strategic move because it enables inventory and point-of-sale data, which can reduce stockouts, cut waste and improve fulfillment efficiency.
If Chowdeck can monetize that software across restaurants, it may diversify revenues beyond delivery margins.
Risks to monitor include the cost of scaling dark stores quickly, rider supply and retention, urban logistics constraints, and the impact of higher order sizes on working capital.
The bold target of 500 dark stores by the end of 2026 is achievable only if density and unit economics remain stable as the network expands.
While early organic traction in Ghana is encouraging, turning that into a profitable, repeatable operation at a larger scale will require continued execution discipline and close attention to contribution margins and customer retention metrics.
Overall, this round validates a local player that has established operational rigor in a challenging sector. The next 12 to 18 months will show whether Chowdeck can scale its grocery and dark-store ambitions without eroding the profitability that set it apart.
The post first appeared on TechCrunch.
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