From Paystack’s backend to Chowdeck’s billion-naira logistics empire, Femi Aluko is shaping the future of African foodtech with engineering precision and entrepreneurial drive.
Born on March 31, 1993, Femi Aluko graduated as the best student in his class at Obafemi Awolowo University in 2015, earning a degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering. But academic accolades were just the beginning.
Femi’s career path began by joining Paystack in 2017. He soon became a key architect of the company’s payment infrastructure, helping process over 100,000 transactions daily.
Below, Techparley writes about how Femi founded Chowdeck and how he is spearheading the operations at the food delivery startup.
The Birth of Chowdeck
In October 2021, Femi co-founded Chowdeck alongside Olumide Ojo (CTO) and Lanre Yusuf (COO), two equally seasoned engineers with fintech and enterprise experience.
But the idea for the company didn’t come from a business plan or a whiteboard session. According to Femi, in a 2022 Medium article, it came from a trip to Dubai, and when he tested positive for Covid.
“Spending time in Dubai opened my eyes. During that trip, I got the idea to create reliable food delivery. The frustration with the delivery system in Nigeria started long before, but it was significantly worse when I caught Covid,” Femi said.
“I got my test result on New Year’s Eve, and because I had to self-isolate and couldn’t go out to purchase food, I had to rely on ordering online. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find food to order on January 1, 2021. It was a terrible experience. But it made me realise I had to solve the problem,” he noted.
That personal experience would become the foundation for Chowdeck’s product philosophy: reliability, and speed. What began as a vision born out of necessity quickly scaled into one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing food delivery platforms.
Chowdeck wasn’t just another food delivery startup; it was designed as a logistics-first technology platform aimed at empowering both customers and vendors in a fragmented supply chain.
Within six months, Chowdeck had delivered over 80,000 meals, expanded across major Nigerian cities, and built a growing fleet of delivery riders.
The 3 Bike Magic
According to Femi, long before Chowdeck had thousands of deliveries a day, the team started with just three bikes, three riders, and two restaurant partners.
“We bought three bikes, got three riders, gave them to two restaurants to use, and observed them closely. After three months of watching, we had clarity of the problem. We dumped most of our initial mockups and designs and came up with a quick solution in a few weeks,” Femi said.
By September 2021, the team deployed an early version of Chowdeck at Lagos State University. It wasn’t perfect. But that was all part of the plan.
“Once we had a stable product, we began testing privately in beta. We got about 244 orders that month. The following month we got over 500 orders. In December 2021, we processed over a thousand, and in January 2022, we processed approximately 3,000 orders,” he added.
Building a Logistics Powerhouse
Under Femi’s leadership, Chowdeck has gone from startup to standout. By October 2024, the platform had completed ₦30 billion worth of deliveries and attracted over 1 million registered users.
Chowdeck’s approach of combining operational tech with human-centred design attracted partnerships with Shoprite, Chicken Republic, and hundreds of small vendors across West Africa.
In May 2024, Chowdeck secured $2.5 million in seed funding from top investors like Y Combinator, Goodwater Capital, FoundersX Ventures, and True Culture Fund, signalling international confidence in Femi’s long-term vision.
Recognition and Responsibility
Femi’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. In December 2024, he was named in Nigerian CEO Magazine’s “40 Under 40” list, and won The Future Awards Africa (Technology Category).
He’s also been a featured speaker at the Meta Youth Summit and Bluechip Data & AI Summit, where he shares insights on local innovation, logistics tech, and scalable systems.
He remains committed to mentoring young developers and founders. For many up-and-coming African founders, Femi represents a blueprint for balancing technical excellence with entrepreneurial boldness.
Talking Points
From graduating top of his class to “co-building” one of Africa’s top fintech infrastructure, Femi Aluko has exemplify what happens when technical precision meets local ambition.
And, through Chowdeck, he is feeding more than cities, he’s fueling an entire sector poised to redefine how Africa eats, earns, and evolves.
