By Adeola Kunle
Eight top-performing founders to receive up to ₦5 million each in non-dilutive funding — Olawande
The Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD), through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA), has entered into a partnership with Cascador, a Nigeria-focused platform supporting growth-stage founders, to expand opportunities for young Nigerian entrepreneurs to develop investment-ready businesses and gain access to capital.
The partnership was announced as part of activities marking the 2026 International Youth Day, themed “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations.” It is designed to strengthen the transition of young Nigerians from skills acquisition and business ideas to investment-ready enterprises, sustainable business growth and meaningful economic participation.
Speaking on the initiative, the Minister of Youth Development, Comrade Ayodele Olawande, said the partnership reflects the Federal Government’s determination to ensure that youth empowerment goes beyond training by providing practical opportunities for entrepreneurship, enterprise development and access to finance.
He said, “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.
“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 NiYA × Cascador Founders Programme will begin with a pilot cohort of 20 early-stage Nigerian youth founders. The programme will also accommodate entrepreneurs who may not yet have formal business registration or established financial records.
Participants will undergo an intensive four-week programme covering business fundamentals, investment readiness and pitch preparation. The training will be supported by virtual engagements and one-on-one mentorship sessions.
At the end of the programme, the eight highest-performing founders will each receive up to ₦5 million in non-dilutive funding from Cascador. They will also receive an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution to assist them in organising, managing and expanding their businesses.
The programme will end with a Pitch Day, organised by NiYA/FMYD, during which participating founders will present their businesses before a panel of judges.
According to the Minister, the pilot programme is an important step towards NiYA’s wider objective of training and empowering seven million Nigerian youths within two years, while creating a stronger link between skills development, entrepreneurship, business expansion and access to finance.
He explained that the pilot was intentionally structured to determine how the model could be expanded beyond the initial cohort.
“If young founders can be identified early, prepared properly, connected to credible capital and supported to build stronger business systems, then access to opportunity becomes less dependent on background or existing networks,” he said.
He added that the broader goal was to establish a youth entrepreneurship ecosystem where preparedness, viable ideas and the ability to execute would increasingly determine access to opportunities for business growth.
Under the partnership arrangement, FMYD and NiYA will be responsible for sourcing participants, providing training and overseeing the day-to-day delivery of the programme. Cascador will support the development of eligibility criteria, investment-readiness preparation, pitch judging and funding for the top-performing participants.
The Chief Executive Officer of Cascador, Trish Thomas, said the partnership would create a practical link between the early stages of business development and access to capital.
Thomas said NiYA and FMYD had demonstrated strong commitment to Nigerian youths through their platforms, reach and ambition to train millions of young people.
She noted that the partnership would now provide what she described as a practical bridge from the ideation stage to capital readiness, adding that Cascador was pleased to support the Ministry in building that bridge.
Similarly, the Chief Operating Officer of Cascador and former Managing Director of the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator, Oyin Solebo, described the partnership as an innovative approach to supporting young entrepreneurs.
According to Solebo, the initiative demonstrates how innovative capital deployment can combine government-led investment readiness with non-dilutive funding at the stage when young businesses need it most.
She said partnerships of this nature could create opportunities that neither organisation would be able to provide independently.
The pilot programme will be conducted physically in Abuja, with additional virtual engagements and one-on-one mentorship sessions.
All 20 participants who successfully complete the programme will become NiYA alumni and will receive priority consideration for future opportunities under relevant NiYA initiatives.
Applications for the programme will open on Wednesday, 19 August 2026.
Interested young Nigerian entrepreneurs are encouraged to visit www.niya.gov.ng for eligibility requirements, additional information and application details.
Adeola Kunle
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