OyaNow’s 7-Year Testament to Nigerian Ingenuity stands as a testament to its role as the leading provider of Convenience, Reliability, and Quality of Service to individuals and businesses across Nigeria.
This homegrown success gears up to celebrate its 7th anniversary this September, reflecting on its achievements and honoring an incredible journey. What started as a small dream under a tree in Abuja, where orders were managed through WhatsApp and phone calls, has become a major player in Nigeria’s logistics scene.
Vision and execution
Founded by a group of young Nigerian entrepreneurs with zero industry experience, OyaNow set out to revolutionize the logistics sector. And despite the absence of institutional funding, their vision has flourished, showcasing the power of Nigerian ingenuity.
Since 2017, OyaNow has grown to serve a customer base of over 50,000 and establish partnerships with more than 500 merchants across three major states – Abuja, Lagos, and Kano. Their Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) has reached an impressive ₦4.6 billion ($3 million since inception), and they have generated ₦2.1 billion ($1.4 million) in total revenue over this period.
Despite the exit of major players like Bolt and Jumia from Nigeria’s $2.49 billion food delivery market — now led by Chowdeck and Glovo — OyaNow has stayed focused on sustainable growth. Their ability to deliver 21,000 monthly orders shows strong operational efficiency and customer commitment.
This year, OyaNow is on track to reach ₦400 million ($250,000) in revenue, highlighting its success as a bootstrapped company. As the COO of OyaNow, Glory Monday, puts it, “We’re not slowing down anytime soon. We keep pushing and pushing because the vision is clear, and we are committed to seeing it through.”
Macro challenges
The food-delivery industry faces significant challenges as Nigeria grapples with its worst cost of living crisis in a generation. The economic landscape is daunting.
- Inflation soared to a three-decade high of 34 percent year-on-year in June 2024 with food inflation at 40.9 percent the same month.
- The local naira currency has lost about 70 percent of its value against the US dollar following two devaluations over the past year.
- Unemployment rates and poverty levels have increased as stated by CBN Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member, Aloysius Ordu, in the bank’s MPC July meeting.
Despite these economic headwinds, OyaNow’s strategic focus and resilience have kept them on a growth trajectory. This begins with acknowledging the scale of the task facing industry players. As highlighted by venture capital investor Eghosa Omoigui, ‘food is essential, delivery is not’. Omoigui emphasized the potential limitations of the market: ‘How big is the target market for food delivery in Nigeria, and how fast is that market shrinking?’ he questioned, pointing to a direct correlation between employment rates and delivery demand. Not to put too fine a point on it, Omoigui added that building and scaling a successful food delivery business is ‘much harder’ than it might seem.
Smart decision-making and customer focus
After navigating the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which shocked the foundations of business globally, OyaNow outperformed competitors and showed up for their customers.
Recognizing the unsustainable nature of the food delivery business model, OyaNow shifted gears, prioritizing Profit and loss (P&L) over burn rate in marketing cost. This approach has been vindicated by the company’s continued growth and stability.
With a total of ₦365.4 million ($230,000) internally invested in the business over the past 11 months, OyaNow has demonstrated that strategic investments can drive sustainable success. The company has also expanded its offerings, launching OyaConcierge—a personal assistant service currently in beta testing across Abuja with over 1,000 active users. As they prepare to introduce additional ventures like OyaShop and OyaTalk, true to their slogan, ‘We dey Come.’ OyaNow is positioning itself for an even greater impact in the future.
Call to action
At the heart of OyaNow’s success story is the inspiring journey of its current CEO, who began her career as a customer service representative. In a company that values merit and hard work, she rose through the ranks to lead the organization, embodying the very spirit of innovation and determination that OyaNow champions.
“There are still plenty of challenges to tackle, both in the food delivery sector and beyond. It’s in these tough times that real innovation can happen. To tackle these issues, we’ll need to rethink our current approach,” said Christabel Aigbogun, OyaNow CEO.
As OyaNow’s 7-Year Testament to Nigerian Ingenuity looks ahead, they are calling out to Nigeria’s brightest and boldest young innovators. This isn’t just about building a company; it’s about sparking a movement that transforms industries and empowers people.
Do you have a groundbreaking idea that can revolutionize the Nigerian service industry? Are you passionate about leveraging technology to enhance Convenience, Reliability, and Quality of Service? OyaNow invites you to submit your innovative concept in a comprehensive business proposal to innovation@oyanow.ng.
Clearly outline how your idea works and integrates with the OyaNow platform and its target audience. Include details on monetization strategies to ensure a sustainable future. Together, let’s push the boundaries and lead Nigeria into the next chapter.
