Nigerian delivery giant Chowdeck has acquired Mira, a fast-growing point-of-sale (POS) startup, in a move aimed at transforming it into a full-service technology partner for food businesses across Africa. The deal, undisclosed in value, underscores Chowdeck’s expansion from just logistics to powering core restaurant operations.
With Mira’s software, Chowdeck is moving closer to the heart of restaurant operations—handling everything from inventory to payments and kitchen workflows.
Delivery meets operations with Mira
Mira, founded in 2023 by Ted Oladele, former VP of Design at Flutterwave, and Olaseike Ibojo, a former Paystack executive, provides restaurants with tools for inventory tracking, sales management, payment processing, and customer engagement. The platform, already adopted by over 500 hospitality businesses, also includes POS hardware priced at ₦360,000.
With this acquisition, Chowdeck gets more than software. It gains visibility into in-store operations, enabling real-time inventory updates and minimising stockouts for delivery customers. That means fewer cancelled orders and better delivery experiences, which is a critical advantage in Nigeria’s cutthroat logistics space.
A vertical integration play in a tough market
The food delivery sector in Nigeria is notoriously challenging, marked by infrastructure issues, thin margins, and recent exits from major players such as Jumia Food and Bolt Food. With Mira, Chowdeck is taking a vertical integration route—offering back-of-house and front-of-house solutions alongside delivery.
Mira’s integration into Chowdeck enables better data syncing between in-store stock and online menus, reducing friction in order fulfillment. It also opens new revenue streams beyond commissions, such as transaction fees and financing services for vendors.
The deal mirrors successful global playbooks. DoorDash’s acquisition of Bbot, for instance, expanded its capabilities into restaurants. In Nigeria, Chowdeck’s move may help it avoid the “race to the bottom” that has hurt others in the space.
Oladele now joins Chowdeck as Head of Product, bringing select team members along to develop tools tailored to Africa’s hospitality market.
What this means for Chowdeck and Africa’s delivery future
Since its launch in 2021, Chowdeck has experienced rapid growth, with over 1.5 million users, 20,000 riders, and operations in 11 cities, including Accra, Ghana. It’s now on track to complete 1,000 deliveries in Accra within two months—a milestone that took a year in Nigeria.
With Mira, Chowdeck is no longer just a logistics platform. It’s building a defensible tech ecosystem that helps businesses grow while improving customer experience. As infrastructure challenges persist and competition intensifies, owning a larger share of the restaurant stack could give Chowdeck a long-term competitive edge.