Product Design Lead

Ridima and Chowdeck turned food deliveries into a new customer touchpoint. Quick Links * Partner Ridima and Chowdeck turned food deliveries into a new customer touchpoint By Partner 18th Aug, 2026 Get TC updates in your Newsfeed Share On 28 April 2026, Ridima and Chowdeck announced a marketing partnership built around something most brands never think about: the bag a food order arrives in. The two companies produced co-branded delivery bags carrying both names and put them into circulation across Chowdeck orders. Ten thousand were printed, and the full run was used. Running alongside the bags, in-app notifications and banner placements inside the Chowdeck app reached roughly one million users. Two different products, one customer Ridima and Chowdeck sell completely different things to almost the same person: a young Nigerian who orders food and manages money on their phone. Ridima, the platform where Nigerians buy and sell gift cards, needed distribution it could not build on its own. Chowdeck already had it: a rider network arriving at homes and offices every day, and an app people open with intent rather than scroll past. Plugging into a network like that reaches customers in a setting no ad platform sells. Chowdeck gained a recognisable fintech name on the packaging its customers were going to receive, plus a campaign that gave its users something to talk about. Two halves of a single campaign The partnership worked on two levels at once. The first was the co-branded bag. Ridima's branding ran alongside Chowdeck's on deliveries across the platform, which put both names in ten thousand separate orders. Each one arrived at a home or an office, where the bag tends to sit on the table for the length of a meal. The second ran inside the Chowdeck app, where notifications and banner placements reached around one million users. A delivery app is a different environment from a social feed. People open it deliberately, when they are hungry and ready to spend, and fewer brands are competing for attention inside it. Neither half would have carried the campaign alone. The app placements built recognition; the bag turned that recognition into something customers physically handled. Where the customer came in Customers were given a part to play too. Ridima ran that side of it on X, where taking part meant: * Ordering on Chowdeck and selecting the paper bag option at checkout * Photographing the bag if the order happened to arrive in a Ridima one * Posting the photo on X with a tag to @myridima Participants won discount codes towards their next meal. Ridima also attached a signup offer to the partnership, giving new users a ₦2,000 bonus when they registered with the code CHOWDECK. Choosing the paper bag gave customers a chance at a Ridima one rather than a guarantee, which is why finding the co-branded print in a delivery was worth photographing. That completed the loop. Chowdeck put the bag in the customer's hands, the customer put it on their timeline, and both brands turned up in posts showing a real delivery to a real address, which reads differently from a designed ad creative even when a reward is attached. The rewards moved in both directions as well. Discount codes sent winners back to Chowdeck for another order, while the signup bonus brought Chowdeck's customers onto Ridima. Why delivery packaging is a strong ground for a partnership Food delivery offers a partner brand something most advertising placements cannot: time in a customer's hands. * Customers look at the packaging properly while they unpack, so the branding gets real attention rather than a half-second glance. * Deliveries arrive at homes and workplaces, where people are relaxed and not braced for marketing. * In an office or a shared flat, several people see the same bag, so one order can reach a small group. * Nothing is being interrupted, so the branding does not read as an advert. That makes this closer to experiential marketing than to straightforward sponsorship. Rather than attaching its name to something popular and leaving it there, Ridima placed itself inside a routine millions of Nigerians already have, alongside a partner whose entire business depends on that routine running smoothly. Ridima's view of the collaboration Ridima frames the partnership as a way of reaching customers in the middle of an ordinary day. "As more brands compete for attention online, we believe meaningful customer connections can also happen offline. Our partnership with Chowdeck allowed Ridima to become part of an everyday experience while creating fun opportunities for customers to engage with our brand." That reflects how Nigerians actually settle on a financial platform. Someone might hear about Ridima from a friend, notice the name on a delivery bag, check their cardis value on the gift card rate calculator, and then download the app weeks later. No single touch does the work, and both the bag and the app notification sit somewhere in that chain. What each brand walked away with Ridima came away with a physical presence in the homes of many Nigerians, a setting no ad platform sells access to. Chowdeck came away with a partner brand on packaging its customers already welcome, a reason for its own users to talk about the app, and discount codes that sent winners back for another order. More from this Author * Government Lagos wants its innovation ecosystem to become a global leader * Events TechCabal and Moniepoint partner to discuss how tech is changing the informal economy * Events ARM collaborates with TechCabal on the Future of Commerce partnership pitch session Partner The rise of AI Adoption and its impact on Governance, Risk, and Compliance Partner | 50 minutes ago

Investors at UBA Business Series identify Africa's next billion-dollar opportunities. ... Spotlight financial inclusion, others as sectors poised for exponential growth L-R: Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Chowdeck, Femi Aluko; Rapper and Entrepreneur, M.I Abaga; Head, Remittances, Uzoamaka Oyeka, United Bank for Africa (UBA); Head Digital Banking, UBA, Olukayode Olubiyi; Venture Capitalist/ Co-founder, Octerra Capital, Ashim Egunjobi; Founder, Lumination Global Network, Adaora Mbelu; Head, Agency Banking, UBA, Adetunji Iyiola and Head Corporate & Other Collections, UBA,Ugochi Obanua-Nwaukor, during the UBA Small Medium Enterprise (SME) Business Series, themed ',"Building for Africa's Realities: Turning Consumer Feedback into Technology-Driven Solutions," 'held at UBA house, Marina, Lagos, on Thursday L-R: Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Chowdeck, Femi Aluko; Rapper and Entrepreneur, M.I Abaga; Head Segment/Channel Marketing, UBA, Olufemi Osobajo; Venture Capitalist/ Co-founder, Octerra Capital, Ashim Egunjobi and Founder, Lumination Global Network during the UBA Small Medium Enterprise (SME) Business Series, themed ',"Building for Africa's Realities: Turning Consumer Feedback into Technology-Driven Solutions," 'held at UBA house, Marina, Lagos, on Thursday L-R: Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Chowdeck, Femi Aluko; Rapper and Entrepreneur, M.I Abaga; Head, Remittances, Uzoamaka Oyeka, United Bank for Africa (UBA); Head Digital Banking, UBA, Olukayode Olubiyi; Venture Capitalist/ Co-founder, Octerra Capital, Ashim Egunjobi; Founder, Lumination Global Network, Adaora Mbelu and Head, Agency Banking, UBA, Adetunji Iyiola, during the UBA Small Medium Enterprise (SME) Business Series, themed ',"Building for Africa's Realities: Turning Consumer Feedback into Technology-Driven Solutions," 'held at UBA house, Marina, Lagos, on Thursday Africa's Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has hosted another impactful edition of its quarterly UBA Business Series, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, innovators and business leaders to explore how customer insights and technology is shaping Africa's next generation of high-growth businesses. Held at the Bank's corporate headquarters in Lagos under the theme, "Building for Africa's Realities: Turning Consumer Feedback into Technology-Driven Solutions," the event examined how African entrepreneurs are leveraging data, consumer behaviour and innovation to build scalable businesses tailored to the continent's unique realities. A major highlight of the discussion was the consensus among panellists that financial inclusion, the creative economy, sports, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) represent the sectors most likely to produce Africa's next billion-dollar companies. They agreed that the businesses most likely to succeed will be those that remain deeply connected to the needs and behaviours of their customers. Moderated by media entrepreneur and founder, Adaora Mbelu, the conversation featured an accomplished panel comprising Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Chowdeck, Femi Aluko; acclaimed rapper and entrepreneur, M.I Abaga; and Venture Capitalist/ Co-founder of Octerra Capital, Ashim Egunjobi. Opening the conversation, Mbelu challenged entrepreneurs to pay closer attention to the realities around them. "Building is not reserved for the smartest person in the room. It is about being observant enough to understand people, behaviour and context. The greatest opportunities often emerge from paying attention to what others overlook." Sharing the Chowdeck growth story, Aluko explained that some of the company's biggest innovations emerged directly from analysing customer behaviour. He revealed that purchasing patterns within the platform inspired the creation of Chowstore, demonstrating how data can uncover entirely new business opportunities. "Customers constantly tell you what they need. If you listen carefully, they will show you what to build next." Speaking on artificial intelligence, M.I Abaga described AI as a transformative opportunity for Africa's creative industry rather than a threat. He noted that emerging technologies would enable African creators participate more competitively in the rapidly expanding global creative economy. "Technology has always been part of creativity. AI gives African creators the opportunity to compete globally, solve bigger problems and build businesses that serve international markets." He also observed that the digital era has fundamentally changed how audiences are reached, enabling creators to build direct relationships with their communities while creating demand for stronger financial and business support systems. Offering an investor's perspective, Egunjobi emphasised that successful investing begins with backing resilient founders rather than impressive presentations. "We invest in founders before we invest in ideas. Grit, adaptability, conviction and the willingness to solve real problems matter far more than a polished pitch deck." She stressed that many startups fail because they become emotionally attached to their solutions instead of remaining focused on solving genuine customer problems. According to her, financial inclusion, the creative economy, sports and SMEs remain among Africa's most promising investment opportunities, particularly as access to financing continues to improve across the continent. Speaking at the event, UBA's Head, Digital Banking, Olukayode Olubiyi, reaffirmed the Bank's commitment to supporting entrepreneurs by creating platforms that facilitate learning, collaboration and innovation. "Every successful business begins with understanding its customer. At UBA, data and customer insight inform every decision we make, and through the UBA Business Series, we remain committed to equipping entrepreneurs with the requisite knowledge, networks and inspiration needed to build businesses that transform Africa." The UBA Business Series is one of the Bank's flagship knowledge-sharing platforms, designed to connect entrepreneurs, investors and industry leaders through meaningful conversations that inspire innovation, promote enterprise development and contribute to Africa's economic transformation. With over 45 million customers, operations in 20 African countries and a presence in the United Kingdom, the United States, France and the United Arab Emirates, UBA continues to leverage innovation, technology and strategic partnerships to advance financial inclusion and deliver world-class banking solutions across Africa and beyond.