Instead, they did something radical: they made money first.

Within months, the company made profits in a sector notorious for cash burn. They proved the model before chasing more capital. And when they came back, the script had flipped: this time, investors were chasing them.

By 2025, Chowdeck had secured $9M in Series A funding led by Novastar Ventures and Y Combinator. Today, they deliver food, groceries, and medicine across 11 cities in Nigeria and Ghana, serving over 1.5 million customers in record time, often under 30 minutes.

Their secret weapon? Dark stores and hyperlocal logistics, allowing them to deliver faster, store smarter, and scale wider.

The Chowdeck Playbook for African Growth

1. Profitability is the power move. In an era of overfunded burnouts, sustainable numbers win trust and longevity.
2. Think local, act lightning-fast. Outsiders can’t outpace a homegrown team that deeply understands the terrain.
3. Tech isn’t decoration, it’s infrastructure. The acquisition of Mira strengthened their operational backbone, proving that smart tech + solid operations = unstoppable growth.
4. Resilience is currency. 200+ rejections didn’t just toughen them up — it refined their pitch, sharpened their focus, and clarified their mission.
5. Start small, scale sharp. By perfecting their model in select cities first, they built the blueprint for rapid, controlled expansion.

Why This Matters

At BCT Limited, we believe technology-driven execution and deep market understanding are the keys to sustainable growth in Africa. Chowdeck’s story reinforces this:

✅ Profitability can be a strategy, not just an outcome.
✅ Local knowledge beats copy-paste global models.
✅ Tech and operations must grow hand-in-hand.

As global players exit African markets, startups like Chowdeck show that with the right mix of discipline, innovation, and local insight, the continent’s next big success stories will be homegrown.

Here’s to African innovation that’s built to last.