Swoop, a food delivery startup founded in Eswatini, has raised $7.3 million in seed funding as it prepares to enter Nigeria marking its first expansion beyond its home market and a major step toward its super-app ambitions.
The round, backed by Silicon Valley investors including Long Journey, Variant, Version One, Dune Ventures, Soma Capital, and Zero Knowledge Ventures, will fund the rollout of its consumer platform, beginning with food delivery.
For a young African consumer startup, the raise stands out coming close to the $9 million Series A secured by Chowdeck in 2025 after years of scaling operations.
Swoop is betting on Nigeria not just as a competitive market, but as an underdeveloped one. Despite crossing the $1 billion mark, food delivery still reaches a relatively small share of consumers. The company’s strategy, according to its Nigerian country manager Demola Adesina, is to grow demand rather than compete for existing users.
“We are not getting into a war with other platforms,” he said. “We are trying to grow the pie.”
The startup launched in Eswatini in 2025 (then known as Thumo), gaining early traction with thousands of users in its first month. Its broader ambition is to build a pan-African super app that combines food delivery, groceries, and other services into a single platform.
Nigeria is its next test. Swoop is starting in Yaba, Lagos, a busy tech and commercial hub already served by rivals like Chowdeck and Glovo. But instead of competing on price, the company says it is focused on bringing new users into the ecosystem, particularly those who have never ordered food online.
Its model relies on independent riders and commissions from restaurants, with delivery fees going directly to riders. For now, the priority is growth and user acquisition, not aggressive monetisation.
The bet is a familiar one. Food delivery has often served as the entry point for broader super-app ecosystems, offering frequent, habit-forming use. But it is also one of the hardest segments to scale profitably. Several players including Jumia Food have exited the market after struggling with high logistics and customer acquisition costs.
Still, the opportunity remains significant. Platforms like Chowdeck have shown that scale and profitability can coexist, even in a challenging environment.
For Swoop, success will depend on whether it can convert new users, manage costs, and expand beyond its initial Lagos base before its funding runway runs out.