Cascador, a platform supporting growth-stage founders in Nigeria, has teamed up with the Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD) through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA) to launch a programme designed to help young entrepreneurs build stronger businesses. The NiYA × Cascador Founders Program will kick off with a pilot cohort of 20 early-stage Nigerian founders, and eight of them will receive up to ₦5 million (about $3,600) each in non-dilutive funding upon completion.
Applications for the programme will open on August 19, and interested participants can apply through the NiYA website. The initiative adds to the Nigerian government’s broader efforts to support young entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses. In November 2025, for instance, the government’s Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) programme invested in Ventures Platform’s $64 million first close of its Pan-African fund II.
“For NiYA, training is only one part of the journey. The real value is in helping young people move from learning to enterprise, from ideas to investable businesses, and from potential to sustainable economic participation,” said Ayodele Olawande, Minister of Youth Development. “The partnership with Cascador strengthens that pathway by combining business preparation with access to capital, particularly for young founders who may not yet have the formal structures or financial history that traditional funding often requires.”
The programme will run for four weeks, covering business fundamentals, investment readiness, and pitch preparation. It will be delivered in person in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, and will include virtual touchpoints and one-on-one mentorship. After the programme, the eight top-performing founders will receive an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution designed to help them organise and manage their businesses, in addition to the funding, at a NiYA/FMYD-organised Pitch Day. The funding is non-dilutive, meaning the founders will not have to give up equity in their businesses in exchange for the capital.
“NiYA and FMYD have already shown what real commitment to Nigeria’s youth looks like — the platforms, the reach, the ambition to train millions,” said Trish Thomas, CEO of Cascador. “What we’re building together now is the missing piece, a practical bridge from the ideation stage to real capital-readiness. When a Ministry so dedicated to its young people asked Cascador to help build that bridge, it was an easy decision.”
Over the course of the programme, NiYA and FMYD will handle founder sourcing, training, and the day-to-day delivery, while Cascador will help define eligibility criteria, support investment-readiness training, judge the founders’ pitches, and provide the funding for the top performers. The pilot is part of NiYA’s ambition to train and empower seven million Nigerian youth within two years. All 20 founders who complete the programme retain NiYA alumni status and receive priority consideration for future opportunities, according to the academy.
The programme builds on Cascador’s existing work supporting Nigerian founders, including the Cascador ScaleUp, a programme for growth-stage entrepreneurs focused on leadership and strategy. Its ScaleUp alumni gain access to the Cascador Catalytic Fund, which the company says deploys up to $5 million annually through a combination of debt and equity investments. Since 2019, Cascador said it has supported 70 companies that have collectively raised more than $125 million.
The NiYA × Cascador Founders Program represents a practical step toward connecting young Nigerian entrepreneurs with the skills, mentorship, and capital they need to scale, while also advancing NiYA’s larger mission of empowering seven million youth within two years.
