Ten Nigerian growth-stage businesses are set to receive targeted support to expand their operations, strengthen their leadership and unlock new opportunities after being selected for Cascador’s 2026 ScaleUp Programme.
The companies were selected from more than 1,000 qualified applications for the 12-week programme, which is designed for businesses that have already demonstrated market traction and are now preparing for their next phase of growth.
The 2026 cohort includes Venco, SunFi, ColdHubs, EHA Clinics, Beauty Hut Africa, BEYOND Fitness, Ziba Beach Resort, Tulay Africa, Maanj Agric and Finger Chops.
Together, the businesses operate across sectors including healthcare, agriculture, clean energy, food production, beauty, tourism, wellness, real estate and critical minerals.
The selection reflects a broader approach to entrepreneurship support that looks beyond early-stage startups to businesses that are already generating value and are seeking the capital, expertise and networks needed to scale sustainably.
According to Cascador, 60 per cent of the businesses in the new cohort are led by women, while the founders represent five of Nigeria’s six geopolitical regions.
Cascador CEO Trish Thomas said the selected founders represent the entrepreneurial talent driving Nigeria’s economy and that the focus of the programme is now on helping proven businesses move into their next stage of expansion.
“The founders in our 2026 ScaleUp programme reflect the ambition, resilience and entrepreneurial talent driving Nigeria’s economy forward,” Thomas said.
She added that the programme would provide the training, mentorship, networks and leadership support needed to help the businesses unlock their potential and create lasting economic value.
The programme will combine two weeks of in-person sessions in Lagos with 10 weeks of virtual sessions for founders and their leadership teams.
Participants will receive one-on-one support from investors, African and international experts and strategic partners. They will also have the opportunity to compete for $50,000 in prizes during a Live Pitch Day.
Beyond the programme itself, qualifying businesses will be eligible for follow-on funding through Cascador’s Catalytic Fund, which deploys up to $5 million annually in growth capital through local-currency debt, equity and guarantees in partnership with Sterling Bank.
The inclusion of businesses from outside the traditional technology sector is also notable.
Among the selected companies is Finger Chops, which has grown from a catering service into a full-scale bakery and is now seeking to build a leading African food manufacturing company.
Founder and CEO Adenike Fetuga said the programme would help move the company closer to that ambition.
“Finger Chops has been able to grow from a catering service into a trusted full-scale bakery serving communities and businesses,” Fetuga said. “But our vision does not stop there; we want to build a leading African food manufacturing company rooted in quality, locally sourced products and operational excellence.”
Other businesses in the cohort are tackling challenges across different parts of the Nigerian economy.
SunFi is working to expand access to solar energy through financing and distribution; ColdHubs is addressing post-harvest losses through solar-powered cold storage; Maanj Agric connects smallholder farmers to financing, inputs, storage and markets; while EHA Clinics is expanding access to primary healthcare through digital, pharmacy and home-care services.
Venco, meanwhile, is using technology to help manage residential and commercial communities, while Tulay Africa is connecting African producers of critical minerals with industrial buyers.
The diversity of the cohort reflects an increasingly important reality about Nigeria’s growth-stage business ecosystem: some of the companies with the greatest potential for economic impact are not necessarily traditional technology startups.
They are businesses solving problems in food, healthcare, energy, agriculture, housing, manufacturing and other parts of the real economy — and many now need a different kind of support from the one available to them during their early years.
Since 2019, Cascador says it has supported 70 ventures that have collectively raised $125 million in capital. Its alumni delivered products and services to more than 1.7 million customers in 2025 alone.
For David DeLucia, Co-Founder of Cascador, the next phase of Nigeria’s entrepreneurial story will depend on what happens when businesses that have already proven themselves receive the support required to scale.
“The next chapter of Nigeria’s entrepreneurial story will be about what happens when proven businesses get the support they need to scale,” DeLucia said.
With the 2026 cohort now underway, the focus shifts from selection to execution — and ultimately to whether these ten businesses can turn additional capital, expertise and market connections into more jobs, stronger companies and sustainable economic growth across Nigeria.
