Bolt Food welcomes Chowdeck’s Ghana expansion but questions its strategy

Bolt Food quit Nigeria by December 2023 after two years but has thrived in Ghana for over four, outlasting Glovo and Jumia Food. Now, Nigeria’s Chowdeck, with over 1 million users in three years, is expanding to Accra, testing Bolt Food’s hold on a market Statista projects will reach $291 million by 2029. Yet, Bolt Food Ghana’s general manager, Ali Zaryab, calls Chowdeck’s entry “healthy competition” that could sharpen their edge.

“Since we’re the only big player in the market, customer expectations are much higher,” Zaryab said in an interview, adding that Bolt Food had anticipated the entry of a prominent alternative since Glovo exited the market in 2024. Zaryab also sees it as an opportunity to identify if there are ways to improve Bolt Food’s services and maintain market leadership,” he said.

Chowdeck did not respond to requests for comments.

Zaryab wonders if Chowdeck’s reliance on exclusive restaurant partnerships characterized by discounts and steep marketing costs can weather Accra’s thin-margin, smaller market—Accra’s population is around 5 million, and Lagos is about three times that. Bolt Food, he says, thrives on cost efficiency in an industry squeezed by courier fees, payment processing, and overheads.

“We’re sensitive about unit economics,” Zaryab explained. “If a deal doesn’t make sense, we can always get off the table and shake hands.” Apart from keeping costs down, it also matters that the company can consistently pull in a lot of orders; volume offsets costs.

Bolt’s strategy hinges on wide vendor selection, high service quality, and affordable but viable pricing. From June 2021, it rapidly expanded across Accra, adding restaurants and, in 2024, over 200 non-food vendors like pharmacies and retailers. Delivery hours stretched to 7 AM–11 PM, with 24/7 service in 10 zones. He also shared that the company is using artificial intelligence technology to improve user experience on the platform. However, Zaryab declined to share revenue, order volume, and user base numbers.

In Nigeria, Chowdeck has grown from 319 users in 2021 to over 1 million by October 2024, with 750,000 users gained after it inked two consecutive partnerships with the Chicken Republic deal. In August 2023, when it first partnered with the food chain, Glovo was the only other startup allowed to deliver orders from the restaurant chain. By August 2024, that partnership became exclusive to Chowdeck, locking out alternatives in Lagos and Ibadan; the first deal increased order volume by 250%, according to The Condia. 

Exclusive partnerships are a proven tactic, but industry experts have criticised their sustainability. Jumia Food and Opay’s OFood used them to build trust in Nigeria, but a food delivery startup founder who asked to remain unnamed to speak freely warns they’re costly, with chains demanding steep promotional budgets and sales targets. 

Quick-service restaurants may co-invest, yet critics like Jumia CEO Francis Dufay, who shut down Jumia Food across all markets, said companies that advertise promotional discounts are “burning money to grow and buy market share.” Moreover, there is the risk that they attract price-sensitive users who jump to cheaper rivals, threatening long-term stability.

Chowdeck CEO Femi Aluko told TechCabal in November 2023, three months after announcing its first partnership with Chicken Republic, that each delivery profits with a 25% take rate. He doubled down in April 2024: “We charge what a delivery’s worth and pay riders nearly the same.” 

The company does not share public financials to confirm net profit, but the claim underscores that despite popular opinion, Chowdeck has its eye out for cost efficiency.

Besides Zaryab’s scepticism, it looks like both BoltFood and Chowdeck share DNA: focus on wide vendor selections (restaurants, grocers, pharmacies), add-ons of other revenue-driving like logistics and advertisements, and a resilience edge; Bolt outlasted deep-pocket food delivery competitors in Ghana, and Chowdeck did so too in Nigeria.  

This will be a real contest for the books, especially since Zaryab says it is welcoming Chowdeck’s city expansion with open arms.