Nigerian foodtech startup, Orda, raises $3.4m to digitize African restaurants

By Olivia Nnorom

Nigerian food tech startup, Orda, has raised $3.4 million in seed funding to help it to digitize many African restaurants through its cloud-based operating system.

The seed round was jointly led by New York-based Fintech Collective and emerging market investor Quona Capital, while existing investors like LoftyInc Capital, Enza Capital, and the Norrsken Foundation, as well as brand-new venture capital firms like Outside VC and Far Out Ventures participated.

The latest funding comes after Orda raised $1.1 million in pre-seed funding at the beginning of the year and brings its total raise to $4.5 million.

With the funding, Orda said it plans to expand its network of restaurants and continue its pan-African expansion drive into South Africa and, much later, Ivory Coast.

The company also plans to improve its services to help more African restaurants to maximize their business operations and expand distribution. Specifically, it wants to improve upon a number of features, including its loan, credit, and payment options. It will also assist clients in maximizing the value of their businesses.

On why her firm is backing the food tech startup, Kofoworola Agbaje, senior investment associate at Quona Capital, said she believes small and medium-sized restaurants, as well as the livelihoods of those who run them, could be significantly impacted by a solution like Orda.

“When a restaurant owner moves from pen and paper to a fully automated digital platform, it’s incredibly empowering,” she said.

Orda offers a solution that allows restaurants to easily manage their dine-in orders and sales from other channels, and this works with little to no internet.