01
The problem
Markets and festivals are where some of the best food in the country gets made. They are also where cash-only stalls, long queues and missed orders quietly cost traders sales.
About YesChef
We built a system that works both sides of the counter so everyone wins
We built YesChef so nobody has to give up their place in the crowd to buy food or a drink. Making that work meant starting behind the counter: one system that handles the orders, the payments and the day’s paperwork, so traders can spend the day serving customers instead of chasing admin.
Ready to collect · A73
Our story
It's 2026, we're not doing queues anymore people!
02
The idea
Give independent traders the same tools the big chains take for granted, on the hardware they already own: a phone.
03
The outcome
Customers scan, order and pay before they reach the counter. Traders work one screen, and the queue turns into a collection point.
Why YesChef
Built for how markets actually run
From QR code to collection code
No table numbers, no delivery drivers, no ticket printer. A QR code on the counter, the menu in the customer's own browser, and a collection code when the food is up.
Accept, then get paid
The order lands on your phone before any money moves. Accept it and the customer pays; decline it and nothing is charged. A sold-out item never becomes a refund.
Local payment rails
Yoco, SnapScan, iKhokha, Zapper and Paystack, settling straight into the vendor's own account. No new merchant relationship to open before your next market.
Runs on the phone in your pocket
The order queue, the kitchen screen and the end-of-day cash up all work on a phone. Add a tablet when you want a self-service kiosk, not because the system insists on one.
Nobody shouts an order number
Customers get a WhatsApp or an SMS the moment their food is ready, naming the stall and a three-character code. SMS is there for the phones without data.
Priced for a market day
Vendors pay a flat monthly tier. The per-order fee is carried by the customer at checkout and invoiced back in arrears, so a quiet Sunday never costs more than it earned.
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Get in touchOur team
The people behind every order
Rob Heymann
Partner · Technical Lead
Rob leads the build. With a background spanning banking and human capital, he runs the YesChef platform end to end, from the customer ordering experience to the vendor console that runs the business behind it.
Matthew Reid
Partner · Data & Product
Matt brings the data and product lens. He's led cross-functional product teams, founded his own app startup, and works in analytics, so YesChef is built on numbers traders can actually act on.
Chef
DM Slider · Chatbot Extraordinaire
Chef is our hardest-working hire and the only one made of pure code. It works the WhatsApp line around the clock, taking orders at 2am and answering "is it ready yet?" for the hundredth time without a sigh. No sick days, no smoke breaks, all charm.
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