Nigeria’s restaurant industry is booming, and technology-enabled startups are playing a key role in its growth. One of the biggest changes in Nigeria’s food service industry is the rise of quick service restaurants (QSR). Largest market share by type of food serviceaccounting for 50.01% in 2023.
This advantage is due to the growing demand for affordable and accessible food options, especially in busy urban centers like Lagos. According to mordor intelligencethe market is estimated at $10.01 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $17.24 billion by 2029, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.49%.
This surge is being driven by the country’s large population, which spends about 60% of its income on food, and the growing demand for convenience through delivery, storage, and access to a variety of diets.
Market fragmentation and diversity provide opportunities for both start-ups and established players to capture a piece of this evolving industry, especially as consumer preferences shift towards convenience and technology-driven services. .
These startups are tapping into an increasingly consumer-first market that values ​​speed, accessibility, and convenience, especially with Nigeria’s urban working population.
With these trends in mind, here are seven founders who have launched disruptive startups in Nigeria’s food service industry.
Babafemi Aluko – Co-Founder Chodek
Babafemi Aluko is the co-founder of Chowdeck. Prior to founding Chowdeck, Babafemi worked at Paystack (2017-2022), where he rose from senior software engineer to principal engineer and led the transition of the payments platform from a monolithic system to a microservices architecture. He also managed the backend development team and pioneered test-driven development.
Earlier in his career, Babafemi was a team leader at Shopping Internet Services (2016-2017) and developed predictive pricing systems at Hutbay (2015-2016). He also held technical positions at Softblue Nigeria Limited (2013-2015) and interned at Toptech Engineering Ltd (2013-2014), specializing in security systems for banking institutions.
Founded in October 2021 in Lagos, Chowdeck is a food delivery platform that connects customers with local and international restaurants. With a mission to empower restaurants in Africa, Choudek has served over 80,000 meals in Lagos in just six months.
The platform recently raised $2.5 million in seed funding from investors including YCombinator, Goodwater Capital, and the co-founder of Rappi to expand its operations and improve its services across Nigeria.
Oscar Pierre – Co-founder and CEO, Glovo
Oscar Pierre, co-founder and CEO of Glovo, is an entrepreneur with a background in aerospace engineering.
After completing his studies at Georgia Tech (2010-2014) and Polytechnic University of Catalunya (2010-2012), he shifted his focus from his first startup to entrepreneurship, which ultimately failed.
But his next venture, Glovo, launched in December 2014, was a remarkable success, transforming the on-demand delivery landscape in Europe, West Asia, and Africa. Under Oscar’s leadership, Glovo has expanded to more than 500 cities in 22 countries and delivers more than 100 million orders annually.
In May 2023, Oscar co-founded Yellow, a pre-seed VC fund aimed at supporting ambitious European founders by sharing insights gained through Glovo’s journey. Previously, he co-founded Zikkomo (2010-2016), which focused on education to fight poverty, and FUO Concept (2014-2015), a marketplace for handmade local products.
Glovo, a global company based in Nigeria, has expanded its reach across the country by providing on-demand delivery services for food as well as groceries, medicines and other essentials.
Yinka Adewie – GoLemon Co-Founder/CEO
Yinka Adewuyi is the founder and CEO of GoLemon, an innovative online grocery store launched in September 2023. By offering a wide range of products delivered directly to customers’ homes, we aim to make grocery shopping accessible and affordable for everyone.
Mr. Yinka’s entrepreneurial journey was fueled by his experience in product management at Paystack, where he held various positions over six years, culminating in February 2024 as Product Lead. His tenure at Paystack from January 2019 to February 2024 allowed him to develop and manage key products. A strategy that has contributed to the company’s success in the fintech space.
Prior to his role at Paystack, Yinka served as Community Engagement Leader at GoMyWay Africa from January 2016 to October 2017. He was also an on-air host on Unilorin 89.3 FM from January 2012 to September 2013. Yinka holds a Bachelor’s degree in Zoology/Zoology. in Biology from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria (2009-2013).
GoLemon is carving a niche in Nigeria’s grocery sector by adopting a direct sourcing model that connects inventory and fulfillment centers to farmers and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) producers. GoLemon announced that within four months of going live, it had achieved sales of over NOK 150 million and served over 7,000 households in Lagos.
GoLemon is designed to focus on bulk orders, especially consumers who make repeat purchases and maintain a sufficient basket size.
Tosin Onafuye- Co-Founder/CEO ChowCentral
Tosin Onafuye is an innovative entrepreneur and technology leader, and the co-founder and CEO of ChowCentral (YC S23).
Toshin co-founded 500chow, a venture company specializing in West African cuisine, with Adeyemi Onafue in July 2021, with the aim of promoting and serving authentic local cuisine to a wider audience.
He also held the position of Product Manager at First Ally from July to December 2021, contributing to product development in asset management and driving the company’s growth and operational strategies.
Tosin also served as a Supply Chain Analyst at Vendease (YC W21) from April to July 2021, where he focused on optimizing restaurant supply chains through data analysis. Prior to that, he co-founded Muvit Technologies, a bike hailing and logistics service.
He holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Economics from Covenant University, which he completed from 2015 to 2019, and is a graduate of Y Combinator’s S23 program.
Chowcentral is a startup focused on building virtual restaurant chains across Africa. ChowCentral expands its brand by partnering with underutilized commercial kitchens while serving customers at up to 10x lower costs than traditional brick-and-mortar locations.
Since its inception in January 2022, the company has achieved an impressive monthly revenue of $105,000 with a 30% gross profit margin. It currently has two subsidiaries: 500 Chow and Greggs Grill.
Guy Futi – Co-founder and CEO, Orda Africa
Guy Futi is the co-founder and CEO of ORDA, which was founded in Nigeria in August 2020. ORDA’s mission is to empower African food distributors by leveraging innovative technology to help them grow their businesses and thrive in competitive markets.
Prior to founding ORDA, Guy held senior roles at Jumia Group for over two years, serving as Managing Director of On-Demand Services from April 2018 to January 2020, and then Director of Special Projects for six months in 2020. I served as
He served as Chief Operating Officer of Generation Enterprise from August 2015 to September 2016, focusing on venture development and operational excellence.
Early in his career, he founded MAJI WATER, a social venture dedicated to providing clean drinking water to underprivileged communities around the world, which he operated from 2008 to 2014 and was responsible for leading brands such as Loblaws and Whole Foods. We worked with major retailers.
Guy is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Philosophy (DPhil/PhD) in Global and Area Studies with an emphasis on Africa at the University of Oxford. He also holds a master’s degree from Harvard University.
Orda has raised a total of $4.5 million in seed investment.
Henry Neji – FoodCourt Co-Founder/CEO
Henry Nneji is a dynamic entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of FoodCourt, a startup launched in August 2021 and part of the Y Combinator S22 cohort. His other co-founders are Ovuoke Buluku (COO) and Paul Adokiye Iruene (CTO).
Based in Lagos, Nigeria, FoodCourt aims to revolutionize the food delivery landscape by providing a seamless platform for consumers to access a variety of culinary options from local restaurants.
In addition to his role at FoodCourt, Henry is also an investor in Immersed, a Techstars ’17 company, with which he has been involved since July 2020, contributing to the growth and development of innovative technology ventures. His previous experience includes serving as Director of Green House Agric from August 2020 to July 2021, where he focused on agricultural development initiatives in Nigeria.
Henry also served as Head of Operations at HK Commerce, a UK e-commerce company, from June to December 2020. His diverse experience spans from November 2019 to October 2020 as Principal Project Manager at SHACMAN Nigeria. Oversee important projects in the automotive sector.
FoodCourt provides a multi-restaurant delivery platform that allows users to order meals from multiple restaurants at once.
The platform allows customers to mix and match dishes from different vendors within a single transaction, giving them more variety and flexibility in their dining choices.
Luther Lowoin: PricePally Founder and CEO
Luther Lawoyin is an entrepreneur based in Lagos, Nigeria, and has been the Founder and CEO of PricePally since November 2019.
Luther’s expertise spans social commerce, consumer technology, and cross-border e-commerce, backed by strong skills in market fit, product development, and growth hacking. He has built four successful businesses, including Lucy.ng, which achieved sales of over $1 million.
In addition to leading PricePally, he has been an entrepreneur at Endeavor since February 2024 and has been participating in the SOSV MOX accelerator program since August 2021. His role as Director of Motherland, which he joined in October 2021, underlines his commitment. To empower African entrepreneurs. Luther holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Lagos and completed the Venture Scaling Bootcamp at MIT in 2019.
Pricepally is an innovative e-commerce platform that connects consumers directly with farmers and wholesalers, offering bulk and small-batch options at competitive prices. This model not only reduces the cost of food products, but also increases profitability for food producers by increasing rotation speeds and minimizing waste.
Note: The people featured in this compilation have been carefully selected by Nairametrics’ renowned editors, experts and analysts. It is important to note that none of the individuals listed were invited to participate. This list aims to be comprehensive, but by no means exhaustive. Many other contributors have played important roles in the development of the food services market in Nigeria. This compilation is exclusive to Nairametrics and may be updated regularly to reflect changes and advances in the field. We welcome your feedback.
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