The Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD), through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA), and the Nigeria-focused platform Cascador announced on 10 November 2026 that 17 Nigerian founders will receive ₦49 million in non-dilutive funding. The awards came at the end of a four-week pilot accelerator that culminated in a Pitch Day in Abuja.

Eight founders will receive ₦5 million each and nine will receive ₦1 million each. The eight ₦5 million recipients are:

  • Andrew Ogbeh, SewPro
  • Patrick Ifeanyi Chukwu, Biuda
  • Ameedat Eniola Olaniyan, Sparklean Station Nigeria Limited
  • Favour Ngozi Nnadi, Backel Food Services Limited
  • Khuzaifa Aminu, Shellify
  • Ayisat Adama Adamu, Rèkool Access Technology
  • Godslove Emmanuel Asuquo, Agrosavvy Consult
  • Kabir Olaosebikan, Craft Planet

The nine ₦1 million recipients are Aisha Bello Marafa (Eeshas Cake and Foods Limited), Zainab Abike Kadiri-Lawal (Zannytecture Recycling Company), Moses Onyema Nweke (UpSmart Energies), Evander Ikechukwu Ofomah (ParaLearn, Parakletus Hub Nigeria), Victoria Okor (Drych Digital Limited), Ibrahim Isah Liman (Agro-Chill Solutions), Solomon Tolulope Adedini (Sol-Uniq Green Resources), Bridget Shidoon Idyu (Bidvans Limited) and Adam Umaru (TrashGo). Non-dilutive means the founders give up no equity in exchange for the money.

Who is funding the awards

The joint announcement names FMYD, through NiYA, and Cascador. It says Cascador selected the eight ₦5 million winners and will award the nine ₦1 million grants. Cascador’s August announcement described a division of roles: NiYA and FMYD would manage sourcing, training and day-to-day delivery, while Cascador would help set eligibility criteria, judge the pitches and fund the programme’s top performers. Some outlets, including BusinessDay and Punch, headlined the awards as federal government funding. The reports we reviewed say the money was awarded or committed. None of them confirms that it has been paid out.

The programme

The announcement says Sapphital Limited, the ministry’s official technical partner, ran applications and assessments through its Startup and Grant Management System. Over four weeks, founders received training in sales, investment readiness and pitching, and sessions and field days with government agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission. All 17 will also receive an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, and founders were trained to manage their businesses on Sapphital’s SMECore platform.

The announcement says the programme drew more than 19,000 applications and selected 17 founders from 13 states. We have not independently checked those figures. Cascador’s August release described a pilot cohort of 20 early-stage founders, while the November reports describe 17 selected. We did not find an explanation for the difference.

What was said

Minister of Youth Development Ayodele Olawande said: “Nigeria is blessed with talented and innovative young people. What they need are opportunities to turn their ideas into successful businesses.” Cascador’s chief executive, Trish Thomas, said that “seeing eight deserving founders secure funding at Pitch Day is an encouraging outcome for the pilot.” Craft Planet’s founder, Kabir Olaosebikan, said the funding and ERP platform meant the company could “put what we’ve learned into action.”

What remains unclear

The reports do not say when the money will be paid, what selection criteria applied beyond the stages described, or whether the programme will run again.

Sources

TopicsAfrican Startups Funding Government Nigeria

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