Chowdeck, a Nigerian-owned food delivery platform backed by Y Combinator, is exploring expansion into other African countries. These include South Africa, Kenya, and Ivory Coast. These markets are attractive due to their established consumer bases, with South Africa being a prime target for growth. Kennedy Offor, Chowdeck’s sales lead, shared the company’s plans at the Moonshot event hosted by TechCabal. Here, he emphasized their intent to tap into these thriving markets.
In South Africa, Chowdeck will compete with major players like Mr. D Food, Uber Eats, and Zulzi, while Kenya presents rivals such as Glovo and Bolt Food. Glovo and Uber Eats already have a strong presence in Ivory Coast. Despite this competition, Chowdeck is optimistic about entering these markets.
Chowdeck recently reached a significant milestone of one million registered users and now handles around 40,000 daily deliveries. However, 70% of those deliveries are concentrated in Lagos, so expanding to other regions is a key priority. The platform has also added grocery delivery, medicine shopping, advertising, and last-mile logistics to its services. Expanding into countries with similar market dynamics as Lagos offers significant growth potential.
Before these international plans take off, Chowdeck is focused on growing its restaurant network by partnering with new establishments and supporting existing ones in expanding their reach. High-traffic restaurants play a crucial role in increasing quantity of orders. Hence, Chowdeck is forging stronger ties with quick-service chains.
In August 2024, the Nigerian owned platform signed an exclusive partnership with Chicken Republic, which operates nearly 100 outlets across Nigeria. They have already collaborated on launching a new food product, further strengthening their relationship.
“We’re always finding ways to support these businesses, whether through faster deliveries or offering valuable insights on customer data,” Offor said. Building strong, mutually beneficial relationships with restaurants is a key part of Chowdeck’s strategy as it explores new markets across Africa.
