Ten growth-stage businesses have joined Cascador’s latest Scale Up cohort, as the business support platform continues to focus on helping established Nigerian companies overcome the challenges of scaling.
Cascador’s 12-week programme provides selected businesses with training and support across key areas of growth, with participating companies also given the opportunity to pitch for a share of $50,000 in prizes.
The latest cohort was selected from more than 1,000 applications received by Cascador this year.
The selected businesses operate across sectors, including agriculture, wellness, real estate and energy. The cohort also includes technology-enabled businesses such as Venco, SunFi, EHA Clinics and Beauty Hut Africa.
For Cascador CEO Trish Thomas, the organisation’s decision to focus specifically on growth-stage businesses is driven by the financing gap facing companies across Africa.
While startups often attract significant attention from investors, businesses that have already demonstrated demand and are looking to scale can still struggle to access the right type of capital.
Thomas says this financing challenge has also influenced how Cascador has evolved its programme. In recent years, the organisation has placed greater emphasis on preparing businesses to become capital-ready, rather than focusing solely on improving their underlying business fundamentals.
“The biggest shift for Cascador in recent years has been a significant focus on capital readiness and not just business fundamentals,” Thomas said.
That focus has extended beyond training. Cascador has established a Catalytic Fund in partnership with Sterling Bank to provide debt financing to qualifying businesses.
According to Thomas, the fund was developed after months of research and conversations with companies Cascador had previously supported. Some of those businesses had gone on to raise debt financing but found that the structure and cost of that capital created additional pressure as they expanded.
“They were put in a position where even though their companies were scaling in local currency, they were really negatively impacted by the debt servicing requirements,” she said.
The financing challenge is particularly important for growth-stage companies, which may require significantly more capital than they did in their early years but may not yet have access to the funding options available to larger businesses.
Beyond access to capital, Cascador is also looking for entrepreneurs who can translate the lessons from the programme into sustainable growth.
While the businesses in the latest cohort span different industries, Thomas notes that the common thread is the founders’ ability to think strategically and apply what they learn to their companies.
The organisation also considers the broader impact of the businesses it supports, including their contribution to job creation and sustainability goals.
Inclusion remains another focus for the programme. Women-led businesses account for 60% of the latest cohort, highlighting Cascador’s efforts to increase the representation of women entrepreneurs within its programmes.
“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, where visionaries, innovators and impact-driven leaders can grow their businesses sustainably with lasting economic value.”
