The Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD), through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA), and Cascador have today announced eight founders from the NiYA <> Cascador Founders Programme Pitch Day as recipients of ₦5 million each in non-dilutive funding to support their businesses’ growth. Held in Abuja, Pitch Day marks the culmination of a pilot partnership designed to help young Nigerian entrepreneurs build investment-ready businesses and access funding.
Following a call for applications on International Youth Day in August, the programme drew over 19,000 submissions from young entrepreneurs across Nigeria, reflecting the depth of entrepreneurial ambition and potential in the country. From this pool, 17 ambitious founders were selected across 13 states, representing all 6 regions, with businesses tackling post-harvest losses, malnutrition and waste, strengthening vaccine cold chains, and expanding access to clean energy and digital education.
The programme was implemented by Sapphital Limited, the official technical partner of FMYD, leveraging its Startup and Grant Management System to manage applications and assessments, and coordinate the accelerator programme.
Over a four-week period, the programme provided founders with practical training and institutional support, helping them improve sales and customer service, manage their businesses using the all-in-one Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform SMECore, developed by Sapphital and navigate data protection, product standards and regulatory requirements. Sessions and field days with government agencies also gave founders access to support for business growth, complemented by investment readiness and pitch training to prepare them to make their case for capital.
Once the training phase was complete, founders presented their businesses for final evaluation at Pitch Day, where Cascador selected the following 8 winners (Founder, Company):
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In addition to the Pitch Day winners’ prizes, Cascador will award the remaining 9 founders, listed below, ₦1 million each in non-dilutive growth capital. All cohort participants will also receive an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution alongside the capital injection to help support their next stage of business growth.
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“Nigeria is blessed with talented and innovative young people. What they need are opportunities to turn their ideas into successful businesses. Through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA) and our partnership with Cascador, we are bridging the gap between skills, funding and enterprise development. This is the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda: empowering young Nigerians to become job creators, build sustainable businesses and contribute meaningfully to our nation’s economic growth,” said Ayodele Olawande, Honourable Minister of Youth Development.
The four-week accelerator also featured technical and regulatory sessions facilitated by government agencies, including NEXIM Bank, Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Contro (NAFDAC), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), providing participating founders with practical guidance on regulatory compliance, business development and enterprise growth.
“This programme will prove to be a defining step in our growth story, giving us the business foundations and confidence to pursue our ambitions. With the funding and ERP platform, we now have the means to put what we’ve learned into action. Our focus is to build on our sustainable plastic waste solutions and create jobs as we grow” said Kabir Olaosebikan, Founder of Craft Planet.
The partnership has showcased how government-led enterprise development and private funding can work together to support young founders, as NiYA continues to work towards its broader ambition to train and empower 7 million Nigerian youth within two years.
“We share NiYA and FMYD’s commitment to giving Nigeria’s ambitious young founders the capital and practical support they need to build stronger businesses. This partnership has put that commitment into action, and seeing eight deserving founders secure funding at Pitch Day is an encouraging outcome for the pilot. We look forward to seeing them use this backing to grow their businesses and create jobs in the communities they serve,” said Trish Thomas, CEO of Cascador.
All 17 graduates retain NiYA alumni status, with priority consideration for future opportunities, extending their connection to the academy beyond the programme.
