National Bureau of Statistics reported that Nigeria witnessed a staggering 31.52% food inflation rate in October, marking a 7.80% surge from the same period the previous year. This alarming increase was attributed to elevated prices of essential items such as bread, cereals, oil, fat, potatoes, yam, fish, fruit, meat, vegetables, as well as dairy products.
In response to the growing challenge of food inflation, Luther Lawoyin, Deepak Bansal, Mosun Lawoyin, and Jummai Abalaka founded PricePally in 2019. The startup’s mission is to minimize food costs, ensure consistent availability, and maintain predictable prices amid shortages and escalating inflation. Luther Lawoyin, serving as CEO, emphasized their control over quality and supply by directly sourcing from specific farmers, eliminating multiple layers of middlemen and conducting price research across local markets.
Lawoyin stated, “We also carry out price research across local markets and our prices are a lot fairer and that’s just because we’ve taken out several layers of middlemen. The idea now going forward is for us to capitalize on our sourcing strength to solve one of Nigeria’s biggest problems currently, which is food insecurity.”
In the face of deepening food security crises in Nigeria, worsened by conflicts between farmers and herders, fuel subsidy issues, and various challenges, PricePally has successfully raised $1.3 million in a seed round. This funding round saw support from prominent investors such as Samurai Incubate, SOSV, ELEA, Hi2 Global, Chui Ventures, and former Unilever executive David Mureithi.
Rena Yoneyama, managing partner at Samurai Incubate, commended PricePally’s execution ability, noting, “The great thing about Pricepally is their execution ability. There are still many difficulties with e-commerce in Nigeria, and many things that work normally in other major African cities often do not work due to a lack of both hard and soft infrastructure and trust issues.”
With the newly secured funding, PricePally aims to expand its operations beyond its current markets in Abuja, Lagos, and PortHarcourt. Additionally, the startup plans to reintroduce its group-buying options, especially in anticipation of the upcoming Yuletide season.
