(CNN) — When Femi Aluko found himself isolating at home during the Covid-19 pandemic one question kept coming to mind — how was he going to get food?
He says he struggled to find quick delivery options in Nigeria’s most populous city, Lagos, because restaurants were either closed or had incredibly long waiting times. So, he took matters into his own hands and began searching for a solution.
He found his answer while on a trip to Dubai in 2021. Aluko was shocked by the efficiency of food delivery apps there. “It was just so fast,” he said. “I was like, ‘Yes, if this can work in Dubai, it can also work in Nigeria.’ I was going to come back and try it.”
In October 2021, Aluko and his co-founders launched Chowdeck. The on-demand food delivery app enables customers across eight Nigerian cities to order meals from about 2,000 participating restaurants. Aluko says the app has since grown to serve …