In 2019, Ikechukwu Nweze was trying to solve a problem in Asaba, in southern Nigeria, where he was based: ordering food online was difficult.
At the time, most venture-backed food delivery startups were focused on Lagos and Abuja, where higher population density and stronger consumer demand made logistics easier to scale. Mid-sized southern cities like Asaba and Warri were ignored.
Nweze, a computer science graduate who had spent years building and discarding failed startup ideas—including a social platform meant to compete with online forum Nairaland and an indigenous email service he called Vmail—believed there was an opportunity to build a hyperlocal food delivery business in underserved cities where digital commerce infrastructure was thin.
Together with co-founders Adinnu Benedict, Chiedu Victor, and Abanum Chukwuyenum—all software developers—he launched OliliFood in February 2020 with two restaurant vendors and two riders.
Building through Nigeria’s lockdown economy
The timing was uncomfortable. A few weeks after launch, the world entered the COVID-19 lockdown that locked out most commercial activity. Yet, for OliliFood, classified as an essential service, the crisis unexpectedly accelerated early adoption.