Cascador, the Nigeria-focused entrepreneur development platform, has announced its 2026 cohort, selecting 10 growth-stage companies from more than 1,000 applicants for its annual 12-week ScaleUp Program. The initiative is designed to support proven businesses seeking to expand their operations and increase their impact across the country’s real economy.
The selected companies operate across a diverse range of sectors, including healthcare, clean energy, agribusiness, property management and consumer goods. They are:
- Venco — Bringing payments, utilities, communications and operations for multi-tenanted communities onto one digital platform.
- SunFi — Powering solar adoption through a digital platform for financing, distribution, installation and management of clean-energy products and services.
- ColdHubs — Helping farmers, traders and food businesses reduce post-harvest losses through solar-powered cold storage.
- EHA Clinics — Expanding access to comprehensive primary healthcare through integrated digital, pharmacy and home-care services.
- Beauty Hut Africa — Building Africa’s beauty commerce infrastructure through technology-enabled retail and distribution of local and global beauty products.
- BEYOND Fitness — Combining fitness, recovery and community to create premium wellness experiences for professionals and teams.
- Ziba Beach Resort — Building experience-led leisure destinations that unlock the potential of Nigeria’s domestic tourism market.
- Tulay Africa — Connecting global industrial buyers with African producers to build a reliable supply of export-grade critical minerals.
- Maanj Agric — Connecting smallholder farmers to financing, climate-smart inputs, storage and markets through a coordinated farming network.
- Finger Chops — Producing and distributing high-quality bread at scale to households, retailers and institutions across Nigeria.
The launch of the programme underscores a strategic pivot by Cascador toward backing businesses that have already demonstrated product-market fit and are positioned for a new phase of expansion. The organization reports that 60 per cent of the 2026 cohort businesses are led by women, with founders drawn from five of Nigeria’s six geopolitical regions.
“The founders in our 2026 ScaleUp program reflect the ambition, resilience and entrepreneurial talent driving Nigeria’s economy forward,” said Trish Thomas, Chief Executive of Cascador. “Their businesses are already creating jobs, generating value and spurring growth across some of the country’s most important sectors. Our focus now is helping them scale further and unlock their full potential.”
Programme Structure and Capital Access
Participants will receive a package of bespoke support aimed at facilitating expansion. This includes one-on-one advisory services from local and international investors, industry experts and strategic partners. The programme combines two weeks of in-person sessions in Lagos — including a kickoff event and a pitch week — with ten weeks of virtual instruction for founders and their leadership teams.
A key component of the programme is the opportunity for follow-on funding. Upon completion, alumni are eligible for investment through Cascador’s Catalytic Fund, a vehicle that deploys between $2 million and $5 million annually in growth capital. The fund, operated in partnership with Sterling Bank, a Nigerian commercial lender, uses a blend of instruments including local currency debt, equity and guarantees to support scaling businesses.
The programme concludes with a live pitch event where founders compete for $50,000 in prize funding.
The companies in the 2026 cohort are largely focused on solving infrastructure and service gaps in Africa’s largest economy. ColdHubs, for instance, provides solar-powered cold storage rooms to help farmers and traders reduce post-harvest losses, a significant issue in Nigeria’s agricultural sector. Maanj Agric operates a coordinated farming network that connects smallholder farmers to financing, climate-smart inputs and storage facilities.
In the healthcare sector, EHA Clinics is expanding access to primary care through an integrated model of digital tools, pharmacy services and home care. SunFi is targeting the energy deficit by facilitating the financing and installation of solar products for consumers.
“The next chapter of Nigeria’s entrepreneurial story will be about what happens when proven businesses get the support they need to scale,” said David DeLucia, Co-Founder of Cascador. “That is the opportunity this cohort brings.”
Track Record
Since its inception in 2019, Cascador reports that it has supported more than 70 ventures, which have collectively raised over $125 million in external capital. In 2025 alone, the organization states that alumni companies provided products and services to more than 1.7 million customers.
The selection of the 2026 cohort illustrates the evolving landscape of Nigerian entrepreneurship, where the focus is increasingly turning from early-stage ideation to the scaling of established businesses that address fundamental economic needs.
“Being selected for Cascador’s 2026 ScaleUp Program brings us closer to making [our] vision a reality,” said Adenike Fetuga, CEO of Finger Chops, a bakery and food production company. “We look forward to all the opportunities it brings.”