Cascador, an accelerator program that assists mid-stage entrepreneurs in Africa with scaling their mission-driven businesses, reported that its aid to companies in Nigeria has resulted in small and medium-sized enterprises raising $23 million in growth capital over the course of four years.
Cascador’s Co-founder, Mr Dave DeLucia, says Cascador’s intervention in Nigeria has touched 45 organisations and they have collectively raised over $23m in funds to grow and scale in different sectors of the economy. Looking at the next four to six years, he says they should have at least 100 companies in their alumni portfolio, helping each of them raise funds, and improve their leadership and scale.
He further explains that at Cascador, they are solving challenges by providing entrepreneurs access to world-class fundraising support and educating them on how to raise investment capital, so that they can take their businesses to the next level. He reiterates that in regard to leadership development, they give them assessment data and coaching to identify their strengths and then help them build on that strength to develop an effective team.
Cascador’s Co-founder, Blessing Mene, says the type of entrepreneurs they cater to should have $50,000 in annual revenue or more. They typically have 10 to 50 employees, two to three years of operation and a strong desire to scale.
She explains that business challenges and the requirements to be successful are universal as success is about focusing on the customers, being clear about your value proposition and having sufficient resources to scale. It is much more difficult to grow a thriving company in Nigeria, but the passion for business ownership and the work ethic here are very strong.
