Chowdeck has cut 68% of its contract staff following a series of operational improvements designed to enhance efficiency. The Nigerian food delivery startup, which has seen rapid expansion over the past year, is now focusing on streamlining processes as it prepares to enter the Ghanaian market.
CEO Femi Aluko confirmed that 86 contract workers were let go, citing the company’s need to scale sustainably. “As we were growing very fast last year, we had to hire a lot of contract people to handle operations,” he explained. “In the last two months, we’ve optimised many of those processes, reducing the need for as many people.”
Aluko emphasised that the layoffs were not due to financial struggles but rather a strategic move to improve efficiency. Recent changes have significantly cut delivery times, reducing the average wait from 41 minutes to 33 minutes. Some teams that previously required 24 people to function can now operate efficiently with just two.
The affected staff will receive three months’ salary and continued health insurance. Chowdeck has also pledged to assist them in finding new roles outside the company. Full-time employees remain unaffected by the restructuring.
Expansion Plans Take Shape
Despite the layoffs, Chowdeck is moving full speed ahead with its expansion strategy. The startup, which raised $2.5 million in seed funding in 2024, recently surpassed 10 million deliveries, with six million of those occurring in the last nine months alone.
This growth has fuelled the company’s push into new markets. In January 2025, Chowdeck expanded into Kaduna and Owerri. Now, the company is preparing for a beta launch in Ghana, beginning with Accra. A country manager has already been appointed, and Chowdeck plans to maintain a lean team while leveraging its enhanced operational model.
“Even though we’re launching in Ghana, what the team knows right now is that we’re launching in Accra,” Aluko stated. “We’ve built a strong product that has achieved product-market fit in specific cities, and we want to expand based on that success.”
Chowdeck’s optimised processes are not just improving delivery times but also accelerating expansion. The company, which once required three months to launch in a new city, now does so in as little as a week. Its Owerri launch reportedly took place over a single weekend, demonstrating the startup’s newfound agility.
As Chowdeck prepares for its first international expansion, its ability to balance efficiency with growth will be key to sustaining momentum in Africa’s competitive food delivery market.
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3 replies on “Chowdeck Restructures Workforce as It Prepares for Ghana Expansion”
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