For Moriah Adika, the idea behind Cedisaver was rooted in a problem he experienced personally: finding affordable fashion as a student in Ghana.
While attending Achimota School, Adika noticed the high price of popular Birkenstock sandals, with some pairs costing more than $100. For students operating on limited budgets, buying such items often meant searching second-hand markets or relying on personal connections.
The problem followed him to the University of Ghana, where he studied geophysics.
“ When we started university, I realised that even buying clothes for daily lectures wasn’t easy,” Adika recalled. “There were simply no affordable options.”
That experience eventually led him to consider whether technology could make affordable fashion easier to find.
From Geophysics Student to Self-Taught Coder
Adika had no formal background in software development when he began exploring the idea.
As the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift towards online shopping, he started learning how to build websites by watching YouTube tutorials.
The experiment eventually became Cedisaver, an online marketplace designed to bring affordable clothing from different sellers together on one platform.
Adika formally launched the platform in January 2023 while completing his final year at university.
“We realised that clothing retail across Africa remains highly fragmented,” he explained.
According to Adika, shoppers looking for inexpensive fashion often have to move between thrift stalls, open-air markets and individual social-media sellers. Cedisaver was created to bring those fragmented offerings together while providing doorstep delivery.
Classmates Became the First Customers
Cedisaver initially operated as a relatively simple website while Adika participated in an incubation programme involving the British Council, Imperial College London and the University of Ghana.
Although the programme did not provide direct equity funding, Adika says the experience gave him an important understanding of how startups operate and the mistakes young founders need to avoid.
His university network then became the platform’s first source of customers.
Classmates began purchasing footwear through Cedisaver, giving Adika an early indication that there was demand for the concept.
“The network effect became our primary growth engine before we even figured out paid advertising or content creation,” he said.
By the end of the incubation programme in late 2023, Cedisaver had served 85 paying customers.
Building the Catalogue Before Chasing Scale
With early demand established, Adika spent much of the remainder of 2023 improving the website and expanding the range of products available to customers.
The objective was to create enough inventory to identify what shoppers actually wanted rather than building the business around assumptions.
The approach became increasingly important as Cedisaver moved from an experiment among university students towards a broader marketplace.
But another challenge was waiting.
The Marketplace Faced a Classic Chicken-and-Egg Problem
By 2024, Cedisaver had developed a larger catalogue and attracted repeat customers. Adika, however, was temporarily balancing the business with his national service.
He worked as a quality assurance analyst at Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority, travelling across different regions to audit fuel facilities.
When he returned to Cedisaver full-time, he faced one of the most difficult problems for any two-sided marketplace: attracting sellers and buyers at the same time.
Initially, the company sourced products directly from larger importers instead of onboarding individual merchants. The concern was that bringing in too many vendors before establishing sufficient demand could put additional pressure on the startup’s limited margins.
The result was a familiar dilemma.
Customers wanted a broad selection before committing to the platform, while vendors wanted evidence of reliable sales before giving Cedisaver their inventory.
Cedisaver Focused on Products That Could Sell Quickly
Rather than attempting to expand every part of the marketplace simultaneously, the startup began concentrating on products with clear consumer demand.
Everyday clothing and fast-moving items received greater attention as the company tried to demonstrate consistent sales activity.
That strategy gradually changed the conversation with potential vendors.
Some sellers remained hesitant to formally join the platform because they had not yet seen enough orders. But as Cedisaver demonstrated stronger sales velocity, the argument for joining the marketplace became easier to make.
The experience forced the company to focus less on adding features and more on proving that customers would actually buy.
37 Informal Vendors Now Use the Platform
By 2025, Cedisaver had reached a point where it could begin formally onboarding independent merchants.
The marketplace now works with 37 informal market vendors in addition to digitally focused sellers that already maintain catalogues on social media.
The model allows Cedisaver to bring products from merchants who may have limited digital infrastructure to consumers searching for affordable fashion online.
The platform currently records about 6,000 monthly active users, while its average order value stands at approximately GHS 400, or around $34.
The Startup Has Grown Without Outside Funding
One of the defining features of Cedisaver’s journey has been its decision to remain completely bootstrapped.
Rather than relying on external investors to finance rapid expansion, Adika and his team have had to operate within their available resources and maintain close control over costs.
That financial constraint has influenced how the company approaches growth and its relationships with informal merchants.
Although Adika recognises the importance of capital, he says raising money is not currently the company’s main objective.
“While capital is important, it isn’t our immediate priority,” he said.
“We want to ensure our unit economics, operational strategy, and foundation are rock-solid before pursuing investment.”
A Student Problem Has Become a Growing Marketplace
What began with a student’s frustration over the price of a pair of sandals has evolved into a digital marketplace serving thousands of monthly users.
Adika’s transition from geophysics student to self-taught developer and startup founder also illustrates how a personal consumer problem can become the starting point for a technology business.
For Cedisaver, the next challenge is no longer simply proving that customers want affordable fashion. The company must continue expanding its selection, supporting informal vendors and demonstrating that its marketplace can operate sustainably as it grows.
After reaching its first major milestones without outside investment, Adika is now betting that disciplined growth and a stronger foundation can prepare Cedisaver for its next stage.
