Grace Ashiru
Chowdeck, a Nigerian food delivery platform backed by Y Combinator, is exploring the possibility of expanding into South Africa, Kenya, and Ivory Coast.
“We’re still in the planning stages, but these countries are on our radar due to their established markets, particularly South Africa,” said Kennedy Offor, Chowdeck’s sales lead, during an interview at the Moonshot event organized by TechCabal on Thursday.
The food delivery markets in South Africa, Kenya, and Côte d’Ivoire are thriving with several key players. In South Africa, major competitors include Mr D Food, a subsidiary of the Takealot Group, alongside Uber Eats, Zulzi, and others. In Kenya, Chowdeck will face competition from Glovo and Bolt Food, while in Côte d’Ivoire, both Glovo and Uber Eats have already established a presence.
Chowdeck recently hit a milestone of one million registered users, making 40,000 deliveries each day. However, 70% of those deliveries are concentrated in Lagos State. To broaden its reach, the company has integrated additional services into its app, including grocery delivery, medicine shopping, advertising, and last-mile logistics. Expanding into other countries with consumer dynamics similar to Lagos presents significant growth opportunities for the platform.
For now, until international expansion plans are finalized, Chowdeck will continue focusing on increasing the number of restaurants in its network by adding new partners and supporting existing ones in opening outlets in new locations.
For Chowdeck to scale order volumes, it is essential for high-traffic restaurants to be strategically distributed. The company has therefore strengthened its partnerships with quick-service restaurant chains. In August 2024, Chowdeck signed an exclusive agreement with Chicken Republic, which operates nearly 100 outlets nationwide. Together, they recently collaborated to launch a new food product, further solidifying their relationship. Chowdeck is also looking to support its expansion into additional states.
“We’re constantly figuring out ways to help these businesses grow, whether through faster deliveries or by providing valuable data on where orders originate and other insights,” Offor explained.
He believes that building a mutually beneficial relationship with restaurants is key to Chowdeck’s success, a philosophy that will serve them well as they explore new markets.
