Vendor Verification Concerns Grow Around Delivery Apps
Customers expect that the restaurants listed on these apps are legitimate and properly connected to the businesses being advertised. Restaurant owners also rely on those same platforms to protect their reputation and customer relationships.
On the 30th of December 2025, Nigerian food vendor Corporate Ewa publicly accused Glovo of allowing businesses impersonating her brand to operate on the platform.
According to posts shared on her social media pages, several stores appeared on Glovo using her business name and food images despite the fact that her business was never officially registered on the app.
The situation raised concerns online at the time, especially after the business owner claimed customers had begun associating poor food quality and service with her brand.
Now, months later, a new investigation by Techpoint Africa has brought fresh attention to questions around how food delivery platforms verify vendors before allowing them to operate.
The earlier complaints
Corporate Ewa claimed she repeatedly contacted Glovo after discovering the listings and asked the company to remove them.
According to her account, the stores remained active even after the complaints were made. She also alleged that some listings were later slightly renamed while still using images connected to her business.
To confirm her suspicions, the vendor said she eventually placed an order herself through one of the listings. According to her, the food arrived in packaging that did not match her business, reinforcing her belief that another vendor was operating under her brand identity. She also claimed the rider told her the food had been picked up from another location that was not connected to her business.
The complaints continued to circulate online, raising broader questions around impersonation and platform accountability in Nigeria’s growing food delivery sector.
What Techpoint found
Those concerns resurfaced this month after Techpoint Africa published an investigation into vendor onboarding on Glovo and Chowdeck.
According to the publication, reporters successfully created a fake restaurant on both platforms using fabricated business information and images sourced from a real restaurant’s social media account.
The investigation stated that the stores were approved, listed publicly, and able to fulfil test orders created during the experiment.
Techpoint reported that the onboarding systems appeared to contain gaps that could potentially be exploited by impersonators or fraudulent vendors.
Different responses from the platforms
According to the investigation, Glovo declined to comment on its onboarding process.
Chowdeck, however, responded by saying it uses verification systems and third-party checks during onboarding. The company also stated that some smaller businesses may temporarily receive restricted access while completing registration requirements.
Still, Techpoint noted that the ability to proceed with incomplete or inconsistent business information may create loopholes within the onboarding process.
Why this matters
Food delivery platforms depend heavily on trust.
Customers expect that the restaurants listed on these apps are legitimate and properly connected to the businesses being advertised. Restaurant owners also rely on those same platforms to protect their reputation and customer relationships.
When verification systems appear weak, the risks can go beyond fake listings alone. Concerns around food safety, customer confidence, and brand damage have also become more serious.
The situation has also renewed conversations around regulation within Nigeria’s growing food delivery industry.
Unlike fintech companies, which operate under stricter compliance and identity verification requirements, food delivery platforms currently exist within a more fragmented regulatory environment.
While agencies such as the FCCPC and NAFDAC oversee parts of consumer protection and food safety, there is currently no clearly defined framework specifically focused on vendor verification for delivery platforms.
A bigger trust problem
The concerns raised by both the Corporate Ewa complaint and Techpoint’s investigation reflect a broader challenge facing many digital marketplaces as they scale.
Fast onboarding often helps platforms grow quickly, but weaker verification systems can also create opportunities for impersonation, fraud, and loss of customer trust.
For companies built around convenience and reliability, maintaining that trust may eventually become just as important as rapid expansion.
