In Nigeria, Black Friday has a brand new winner: Meals supply

Till Jumia launched its first nationwide gross sales marketing campaign after it launched in 2012, Black Friday was not a retail custom in Nigeria. Since then, the once-foreign idea has grown into one of many nation’s most anticipated on-line commerce moments.

Black Friday offers have now prolonged to on-line meals supply platforms like Chowdeck, which drove ₦1.4 billion ($975,909) in gross sales throughout its Black Friday occasion that ran from Friday, November 28, to Monday, December 1, in response to knowledge tracked on its reside dashboard. 

The corporate rolled out discounted meals, free supply vouchers, and city-specific flash drops in costs throughout Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, and different cities.

This 12 months’s four-day occasion blew previous its inside goal to double orders from 2024 when it hosted its first Black Friday occasion. By 9:08 pm West African Time (WAT) on Friday, November 28, it had already fulfilled 51,000 orders, greater than double its 2024 gross sales quantity. On the finish of the occasion on Monday, December 1, it recorded 182,74 orders producing ₦1.4 billion ($975,909) in income and protecting over 727,000 kilometres, the very best the corporate has logged throughout a promotional window.

The efficiency reinforces the corporate’s latest momentum. In October, Chowdeck crossed over 1 million month-to-month orders throughout Nigeria. “Our each day order volumes in Nigeria has grown from a mean of roughly 30,000 each day orders a couple of weeks in the past to over 40,000 each day orders presently and nonetheless rising day on day,” Femi Aluko, Chowdeck Co-founder and CEO posted on X in November 3 after the corporate reached the milestone. “This milestone reminds us of what’s attainable when individuals imagine in what we’re constructing.”

Nigeria’s on-line food-delivery market was valued at $1.04 billion in 2024, with projections to achieve $2.49 billion by 2033 at a CAGR of 10.3%, in response to IMARC Group. 

Chowdeck launched in October 2021, getting into a market the place meals supply was extensively seen as unprofitable and tough to scale. By 2023, regional rivals, like Bolt Meals, Jumia Meals, and OFood, both exited or downsized operations. However the firm constructed a logistics-first mannequin round geolocation, demand batching and rider incentives, permitting it to develop rapidly in dense cities.

Two forces clarify the acceleration. First, Nigeria’s digital entry has reached vital mass. The nation had about 107 million web customers at the start of 2025, practically 45% of its inhabitants. This provides supply apps sufficient scale to push user-acquisition, together with campaigns throughout Black Friday.

The second is steady funding, which strengthened the platform infrastructure. In 2025, Chowdeck acquired point-of-sale startup Mira to combine funds and service provider instruments. In August, it raised $9 million Sequence A funding led by Novastar Ventures to develop quick-commerce choices like groceries and necessities. 

Chowdeck’s closest competitor, Glovo, additionally ran Black Friday offers from November 28 to 30, providing reductions and free supply, although it didn’t disclose order volumes or income for the interval.

Reductions enchantment to residents in city centres as a result of it reduces the fee and energy of making ready meals or shopping for family necessities, offering a handy different to grocery procuring and cooking. Supply firms have additionally invested closely in logistics, in-app navigation, and restaurant partnerships, enabling them to handle excessive order volumes effectively. Collectively, these components permit platforms like Chowdeck to show short-term promotions into record-breaking gross sales.

Why meals supply is profitable in Nigeria 

When Jumia Meals was the most important participant within the sector, Nigeria’s food-delivery sector had restricted attain and inconsistent reliability. The COVID-19 lockdown uncovered these gaps and created new demand, opening the door for a brand new wave of gamers that emerged from 2021, together with Glovo and Chowdeck.

Chowdeck’s founding story underscores the second. “I examined optimistic for COVID on the thirty first of December, 2020,” Aluko shared on the corporate’s web site. “I spent the whole January 1 on the lookout for meals distributors to ship meals to me however the obtainable meals supply suppliers didn’t ship throughout public holidays. I finally discovered one after many hours and ended up paying 4x the common quantity.” His expertise mirrored the frustrations of many city Nigerians and signalled a gap for extra dependable on-demand supply providers.

On-line supply has continued to thrive whilst Nigerians lose extra of their revenue to rising meals, gasoline, and dwelling prices. Nonetheless, city realities: work, lengthy visitors, unreliable energy, and restricted time are making cooking extra inconvenient as metropolis dwellers now see supply as a time-saving possibility.

The present strides within the meals supply sector is proof of this demand. Foodpod, citing Paystack knowledge, notes that meals supply grew considerably at 187% CAGR between 2021 and 2024. New entrants that launched on the peak of this increase rapidly discovered traction by serving kitchens and eating places. Alongside friends resembling FoodCourt, Chowcentral, Heyfood, and MANO, they broadened shopper consciousness and deepened demand for quick supply.

From simply 319 customers at launch in October 2021, Chowdeck grew to 17,900 customers in 2022, 250,000 in 2023, and over 1 million by 2024. Moreover, whereas Jumia Meals as soon as operated in three cities with roughly 80 couriers, Chowdeck alone now deploys greater than 20,000 riders finishing over 40,000 each day orders.

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