A search for an affordable pair of sandals became the starting point for Cedisaver, a Ghanaian e-commerce platform built to help consumers find budget-friendly fashion while connecting informal merchants to a growing digital marketplace.
The company’s founder, Moriah Adika, began thinking about the problem after encountering the high price of popular Birkenstock sandals while attending Achimota School in Ghana.
The sandals, which could cost more than $100, were out of reach for many students. Finding affordable alternatives often meant searching second-hand markets or relying on personal connections.
The problem followed Adika into university.
“When we started university, I realised that even buying clothes for daily lectures wasn’t easy. There were simply no affordable options.”
That experience eventually evolved into an idea for a digital marketplace that could bring affordable clothing from fragmented physical and social-media markets into one platform.
From Geophysics Student to Tech Founder
Adika was studying geophysics at the University of Ghana and did not have a formal background in software development.
As the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift towards online shopping, he began exploring whether technology could make affordable fashion easier to discover and purchase.
He taught himself how to code through YouTube tutorials and began building the platform himself.
In January 2023, while still in his final year at university, Adika officially launched Cedisaver.
The platform was designed to aggregate affordable clothing and connect consumers with sellers while also providing doorstep delivery.
“We realised that clothing retail across Africa remains highly fragmented. To find affordable items, people have to hunt through thrift stalls, navigate open-air markets, or search scattered social media vendors.”
Adika said the goal was to consolidate those products onto a single platform that could make the shopping process more convenient.
Finding Its First Customers
Cedisaver initially launched as a basic web platform while Adika participated in an incubation programme jointly organised by the British Council, Imperial College London and the University of Ghana.
Although the programme did not provide direct equity funding, it gave the young founder exposure to startup operations and the challenges involved in building a business.
“They guided us through the mechanics of building a startup and key pitfalls to avoid. Even without capital injection, I credit those early lessons for our initial growth.”
Adika’s university classmates became some of Cedisaver’s earliest customers, purchasing footwear through the platform.
The early traction came largely through personal networks and word of mouth, before the company had developed a formal marketing budget or content strategy.
“The network effect became our primary growth engine before we even figured out paid advertising or content creation.”
By the end of its incubation programme in 2023, Cedisaver had served 85 paying customers.
Adika subsequently spent the remainder of the year refining the website, expanding its catalogue and learning more about the products customers were looking for.
The Challenge of Building a Two-Sided Marketplace
By 2024, Cedisaver had developed a growing catalogue and a base of returning customers.
However, Adika’s attention was temporarily divided as he completed his mandatory national service as a quality assurance analyst at Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority, travelling across the country to audit fuel facilities.
When he returned to Cedisaver full-time, he faced one of the central challenges of building an online marketplace: attracting both buyers and sellers at the same time.
Initially, the company sourced inventory directly from large importers rather than onboarding independent merchants. The concern was that bringing vendors onto the platform too early could put additional pressure on the startup’s already limited margins.
“Cedisaver needed to become a platform that attracted a critical mass of buyers first, which in turn would entice vendors.”
The strategy created a familiar chicken-and-egg problem.
Customers wanted a wide selection of products, but vendors were reluctant to commit their inventory without evidence that the platform could generate consistent orders.
Focusing on What Customers Wanted
To overcome the challenge, Cedisaver became more deliberate about the products it listed.
The company prioritised everyday clothing and high-demand products that could generate faster sales and demonstrate demand to potential vendors.
Some merchants remained hesitant to formally join the platform until they could see consistent sales.
“Some vendors were initially hesitant about our approach. They weren’t ready to formally onboard until they saw steady orders coming through.”
The experience prompted Cedisaver to refine its go-to-market strategy.
Rather than attempting to expand every part of the platform simultaneously, the company concentrated on increasing conversions around selected products and demonstrating sales momentum to potential suppliers.
Building a Growing Merchant Network
By 2025, Cedisaver had established more consistent consumer demand and began formally onboarding independent merchants.
The platform now works with 37 informal market vendors, alongside digitally native sellers that already operate catalogues through social media.
The company’s approach seeks to bridge Ghana’s traditional informal retail sector with digital commerce by giving merchants another channel through which they can reach customers.
At the same time, consumers gain access to a wider range of affordable fashion products through a single online marketplace.
6,000 Monthly Users and a Bootstrapped Business
Cedisaver currently averages approximately 6,000 monthly active users and has an average order value of around GHS 400, equivalent to approximately $34 based on the figures provided in the original report.
The startup has achieved this growth while remaining entirely bootstrapped, without relying on external venture capital.
Operating without significant outside funding has required the company to maintain tight control over its finances and protect its margins while developing relationships with informal merchants.
For Adika, raising external capital is not yet the immediate priority.
“While capital is important, it isn’t our immediate priority. We want to ensure our unit economics, operational strategy, and foundation are rock-solid before pursuing investment.”
Building Ghana’s Digital Fashion Marketplace
Cedisaver’s story reflects a broader opportunity within Africa’s fragmented retail economy.
Across many African markets, fashion merchants continue to operate through physical markets, informal stalls and social-media pages, creating a fragmented shopping experience for consumers.
Cedisaver is attempting to bring some of that fragmented supply together through a single digital marketplace while giving informal sellers access to a larger pool of potential customers.
For Adika, the journey began with the simple challenge of finding affordable footwear and clothing as a student.
What started with the search for a $100 pair of sandals has since evolved into a growing e-commerce platform connecting thousands of consumers with independent sellers.
As Cedisaver expands its product selection and merchant network, the company is focused on proving that a locally built, bootstrapped marketplace can create sustainable value for both consumers and informal retailers in Ghana.
