Afridigest Executive Brief: Chowdeck delivers the dough
Strategic Intelligence for Senior Executives | Week 33: August 10-17, 2025
The Executive Brief is a new format from Afridigest, designed for busy executives. To those who shared feedback on the format last week: Thanks & you’ll notice some changes this week. 🙏🏽
A summary of this week’s key trends:
• Food delivery and quick commerce finding product-market fit in Africa
• Traditional banks now acquiring fintech challengers?
• Institutional appetite for climate investments growing
With that said, let’s get into it!
Deal of the Week
🇳🇬 Chowdeck, a Nigerian online food delivery platform, raised a $9M Series A from Novastar (lead), Y Combinator, AAIC Investment, Rebel Fund, GFR Fund, Kaleo, HoaQ, and others. The round will fund quick commerce strategy and expansion across Nigeria and Ghana.
About Chowdeck: Founded in 2021, Chowdeck operates in 11 cities across Nigeria and Ghana, serving 1.5M customers with 20,000+ riders, half of whom use bicycles or electric two-wheelers. The platform averages 30-minute deliveries and claims to be profitable thanks to a focus on hyperlocal logistics within 3-5km zones.
Key personalities:
Femi Aluko, Co-Founder & CEO
Olumide Ojo, Co-Founder & CTO
Lanre Yusuf, Co-Founder & COO
Brian Waswani Odhiambo, Partner at Novastar Ventures
In the Founder’s words: “We're thrilled about this round as it brings us closer to our vision of becoming Africa's number one super app. This funding will supercharge our growth plans, enabling us to expand into more cities, reduce delivery times, scale our grocery footprint, and attract the best talent.” — Femi Aluko
Pair with:
Why super apps are proliferating in emerging markets (Afridigest 2020)
How Africa’s super app landscape is evolving (Afridigest 2021)
In the Investor’s words: “Chowdeck is building the future of logistics for African cities by creating a platform that benefits consumers, vendors and riders alike. With deep local insight, a sustainability-first approach, and impressive execution, it is redefining last-mile delivery on the continent.” — Brian Waswani Odhiambo
Go deeper:
Part 2 goes out this week.
Y Combinator Partner Aaron Epstein:
Deal Digest
The full list of raises announced in the week:
Market Pulse
🏦 South African giant Nedbank acquires hardware-focused payment provider iKhokha for ~$94M in landmark SME play. The all-cash ZAR1.65 billion deal marks a successful exit for Crossfin Holdings, Apis Partners, and the IFC.
The dominant M&A trend in African financial services to date has been fintechs acquiring banks (i.e., fintechs acquiring microfinance banks for their licenses). As African banks continue to embrace the SME sector however, this acquisition could kick off a wave of bank-fintech deals.
💚 Green infrastructure gets $118M boost as AfDB commits $40M in blended capital. The African Development Bank anchored the $118M first close of Africa50’s ($400M target) Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa Project Development Fund.
Signals growing institutional appetite for early-stage climate (infrastructure) financing across Africa.
🛩️ AfDB signs on to Ethiopian Airlines’ mega-airport project – The AfDB has agreed to mobilize nearly $8B of the $10B project to create Africa’s largest airport.
This is Africa’s largest aviation infrastructure project and its progress suggests continued infrastructure investment momentum despite global funding constraints; the ‘aerotropolis’ design will generate tens of thousands of jobs and enhance regional connectivity.
Investor News
South Africa’s REdimension Capital closed a $14M (R250M) specialized fund focused on proptech and green building solutions.
The fund’s investor base includes major REITs like Hyprop Investments, Growthpoint Properties, and Liberty Two Degrees — suggesting corporate venture capital appetite in SA for digitizing Africa’s built environment.
Recommended Reads
Why we invested in Chowdeck (Novastar) | Consistent execution, strong user growth, and lasting social value to thousands of low-income delivery riders while actively decarbonizing its fleet.
Building and maintaining an edge (AInvestor) | Michael Mauboussin on how investors can/should use AI to make better decisions.
Africa is deliberately kept poor (Afridigest) | Dr. Fadhel Kaboub on breaking Africa’s colonial economic traps.
Intelligence at a Glance
Here's where smart money is likely to flow across Africa over the next decade:
Digitization, digital platforms, and fintech
Trade, logistics, & transport infrastructure
Essential consumer services
Clean energy & climate
Where do you see the biggest opportunity?
Emerging Signals: What Founders & Investors Should Watch
New opportunities created by post-AGOA trade realignment – As US tariffs reshape trade flows, watch for accelerated China-Africa partnerships and intra-African trade growth.
Implication: B2B solutions serving China-Africa trade corridors (logistics, payments, compliance) likely to see increased demand, especially in East African ports.
If you like this Executive Brief format, click the ♡︎ to let us know. (Share your feedback and help make it better by responding.)
For custom projects, contact intelligence@afridigest.com.