Swoop’s Nigeria gamble: Winning Lagos before conquering Africa

Food delivery startup Swoop is making an ambitious bet on Nigeria, positioning Africa’s largest city as the launchpad for its continental expansion plans despite entering one of the continent’s most competitive delivery markets.

The Eswatini-born company, which recently raised $7.3 million in seed funding from international investors, has begun operations in Lagos and says its immediate goal is simple: win Lagos before attempting to conquer the rest of Africa.

“We are number one in Eswatini right now, and our goal is to be number one in Nigeria as well. If we hit that goal, it becomes easier to go across the continent. Nigeria is an important market to us,” Demola Adesina, Swoop’s country manager, said in an exclusive interview with BusinessDay.

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The strategy reflects a growing trend among African technology startups that increasingly view Nigeria’s more than 220 million people as the ultimate test market. Success in Nigeria often provides credibility, scale and operational experience needed to expand into other African countries.

Unlike international competitors that entered Africa from Europe or other regions, Adesina said Swoop considers itself fundamentally an African company.

The startup traces its roots to Eswatini, where it first launched before expanding into Nigeria. Lagos is now becoming the company’s most important growth market.

Swoop’s arrival comes as competition intensifies in Nigeria’s food delivery sector, where established players have already spent years building consumer trust, logistics networks and restaurant partnerships.

Yet Adesina rejects suggestions that the market is saturated.

“Just Lagos alone is a huge market. We are looking at people who are not consuming today and moving them from non-consumption to using food delivery apps,” he said.

That focus on first-time users could prove significant. Despite the visibility of delivery platforms in major cities, food delivery penetration in Nigeria remains relatively low compared with more mature markets, largely due to affordability concerns and high delivery costs.

For many Nigerians battling rising food prices and inflation, convenience often comes second to cost.

Recognising this reality, Swoop is attempting to compete on pricing and speed rather than brand recognition.

According to Adesina, the company charges what he describes as the lowest service fees in the industry and aims to ensure that food ordered through its platform costs nearly the same as buying directly from restaurants.

“Our competition is not another app. Our competition is walking downstairs and buying food,” he said.

The company claims customers receive their food in less than 30 minutes on average, a target achieved through technology, restaurant incentives and performance-based rewards for delivery riders.

Industry analysts say execution rather will determine whether such promises can be sustained.

Nigeria’s food delivery business has historically proven difficult. Earlier operators spent years educating consumers, building payment systems and shifting customers away from cash-on-delivery models.

“We are standing on the shoulders of giants,” Adesina acknowledged, crediting earlier players with helping to create the ecosystem that newer entrants now benefit from.

One area where Swoop believes it can differentiate itself is localisation.

The company says it has already adjusted parts of its operations within weeks of launching in response to Nigerian consumer behaviour and market demands.

Because the business is managed locally, Adesina argued, it can react faster to changing customer expectations.

“We can respond to the needs of Nigerians,” he said.

Trust is another major focus.

Food delivery platforms globally have faced challenges ranging from fake merchants to poor-quality food and identity fraud. To address these concerns, Swoop says it physically inspects restaurants before onboarding them.

According to Adesina, every merchant listed on the platform undergoes verification, including business documentation checks, account verification and physical visits by company representatives.

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“We know where your food is coming from,” he said.

Currently operating in Yaba, Surulere and parts of Lagos Mainland, Swoop plans a rapid expansion across the city. The company expects to add Gbagada, Ikeja and other districts in the coming months, with a target of achieving broad Lagos coverage before the end of the year.

The Lagos-first approach mirrors strategies adopted by several successful African technology firms, which often use the city as a proving ground before expanding nationally and regionally.

For Swoop, Lagos represents more than a city. It is a test of whether an African-born startup can successfully challenge both local champions and global competitors in one of the continent’s toughest consumer markets.

The broader ambition stretches beyond food delivery. Like many technology platforms globally, Swoop sees food delivery as the first step toward building a larger consumer ecosystem that could eventually include groceries, pharmacy services and other everyday transactions.

Whether that vision succeeds will depend on the company’s ability to solve a challenge that has troubled many delivery businesses before it: balancing affordable prices for consumers with sustainable earnings for riders and merchants.

For now, Swoop’s message is clear. Before conquering Africa, it must first win Lagos and in Nigeria’s fiercely competitive food delivery market, that may prove to be the harder task.