The federal government and Cascador, a Nigeria-focused platform for growth-stage founders, have committed N49 million in non-dilutive funding to 17 young Nigerian entrepreneurs. The awards were announced at a pitch day in Abuja on November 10, at the end of a four-week accelerator run through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA), the digital platform of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development. Non-dilutive means the founders keep full ownership of their businesses.
Seventeen founders from more than 19,000 applicants
The programme was announced in August around International Youth Day as a pilot for 20 early-stage founders, and applications opened on August 19. More than 19,000 young entrepreneurs applied. In the end, 17 founders from 13 states across the six geopolitical zones made the cohort, which works out to roughly one slot for every 1,100 applicants. The final pitch and grant ceremony took place at the Afreximbank African Trade Centre in Abuja.
Who received the money?
Eight founders received N5 million each. They are Andrew Ogbeh of SewPro, Patrick Ifeanyi Chukwu of Biuda, Ameedat Eniola Olaniyan of Sparklean Station Nigeria Limited, Favour Ngozi Nnadi of Backel Food Services Limited, Khuzaifa Aminu of Shellify, Ayisat Adama Adamu of Rèkool Access Technology, Godslove Emmanuel Asuquo of Agrosavvy Consult and Kabir Olaosebikan of Craft Planet.
The other nine received N1 million each: Eeshas Cake and Foods, Zannytecture Recycling, UpSmart Energies, ParaLearn, Drych Digital, Agro-Chill Solutions, Sol-Uniq Green Resources, Bidvans and TrashGo. The two tiers add up to the N49 million total.
The businesses tackle problems such as post-harvest losses, food processing, waste management, vaccine cold-chain logistics, clean energy and digital education. Craft Planet, which turns plastic waste into building materials, was also among the winners at Wema Bank’s Hackaholics 7.0 days earlier, where it received N40 million.
Training and tools beyond the cash
The four-week accelerator covered sales, customer service, business management, investment readiness and pitching. Participants also sat through sessions with government bodies including the National Information Technology Development Agency, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, the Corporate Affairs Commission, NAFDAC and the Nigeria Revenue Service. The aim was to help young founders understand compliance, data protection and product standards, areas where many small businesses stumble.
All 17 founders will also get one year of free access to SMECore, an enterprise resource planning platform built by Sapphital Limited, the programme’s implementation partner. The tool handles financial management, accounting, inventory tracking, sales and customer records. Every participant keeps alumni status at NiYA, which gives them priority for future opportunities.
Small grants, big test
The sums are modest. For many of these founders, though, access to capital is only part of the problem, since early-stage businesses often lack financial records, collateral and an operating history that lenders want to see. Bundling cash with compliance guidance and business software is an attempt to close those gaps together.
The real measure will come later: whether the 17 businesses turn this support into steady revenue and new jobs. The pilot also feeds into NiYA’s wider target of training and empowering seven million young Nigerians within two years. Cascador says it has backed 70 companies since 2019 that have collectively raised more than $125 million, a record the programme’s alumni will now try to build on.
