Seven Nigerian tech startups receive over $5 M from growth-stage entrepreneurs’ platform Cascador
At its second annual pitch day, Cascador, an Africa-focused platform for growth-stage entrepreneurs creating companies with social impact, invested more than $5 million in seven creative ventures.
The introduction of Cascador’s Catalytic Fund, a US$2 million yearly project that offers customized financial help to Cascador alumni enterprises, was revealed by the media in March of last year. Since its establishment in 2019, Cascador has assisted more than 60 business owners who have raised a total of more than $55 million.
On June 3, the organization held its second annual event. Over US $5 million in growth capital was given to seven creative African entrepreneurs, who presented their ideas and growth plans to a prestigious panel of judges and a powerful audience of business executives.
Agriarche secured US$1.7 million in loan finance, Koolboks secured US $1.4 million in debt, Powerstove secured US $1.2 million in debt funding, and First Electric raised US $357,000 in debt.
The other enterprises that received funding were Indigenius AI, which raised US $250,000 in equity investment, Stears, which raised US $450,000 in equity funding, and Fortics, which raised US $142,000 in loans.
“In just two years, Pitch Day has awarded more than US$9 million to growth-stage African founders, helping to build a new generation of entrepreneurs equipped to scale transformative businesses. We’re now looking for the next cohort of exceptional founders to join our 2026 ScaleUp programme and hope to see them on stage at the next Pitch Day,” said Dave DeLucia, founder of Cascador.
“Cascador’s ScaleUp programme built upon my team’s ability to translate learning into action by helping us refine our message and market position, adjust our funding strategy, and adapt without defensiveness. The Catalytic Fund due diligence team assessed Agriarche’s financial strength, resourcefulness, and track record of success, and they rewarded our high-potential for scale and impact today by awarding a new NGN2.5 billion credit facility to power our growth,” said Deina Mayaki of Agriarche, the largest funding recipient from the 2026 Catalytic Fund.
