…Companies drawn from healthcare, agriculture, clean energy, tourism, others
By Kingsley Samuel
Growth-stage companies operating across healthcare, agriculture, clean energy, tourism, beauty and other sectors have been selected for the 2026 ScaleUp Programme of Cascador, a Nigeria-focused platform supporting transformative entrepreneurs.
The 10 companies were selected from more than 1,000 applications for the 12-week programme, which is designed to help ambitious Nigerian businesses with proven traction scale their operations, create jobs and deepen their economic impact.
The companies are Beauty Hut Africa, BEYOND Fitness, ColdHubs, Finger Chops, EHA Clinics, Maanj Agric, SunFi, Tulay Africa, Venco and Ziba Beach Resort.
According to Cascador, the cohort represents businesses contributing to critical areas of the Nigerian economy, including healthcare access, food security, clean energy, property management, manufacturing and domestic tourism.
It said the 2026 cohort also reflects a deliberate shift towards growth-stage businesses that have demonstrated traction across Nigeria’s real economy and technology-driven industries.
Commenting on the development, CEO of Cascador, Trish Thomas, said the selected founders represented the ambition and resilience driving Nigeria’s economy.
Thomas said: “The founders in our 2026 ScaleUp programme reflect the ambition, resilience and entrepreneurial talent driving Nigeria’s economy forward.
“Their businesses are already creating jobs, generating value and spurring growth across some of the country’s most important sectors.
“Our focus now is helping them scale further and unlock their full potential, giving them the training, mentorship, networks and leadership skills needed to power their next phase of growth.”
The selected companies have diverse business models. Venco provides digital tools for payments, utilities and operations in multi-tenanted communities, while SunFi supports solar adoption through financing, distribution, installation and management of clean-energy products.
ColdHubs provides solar-powered cold storage to help reduce post-harvest losses, while EHA Clinics uses digital, pharmacy and home-care services to expand access to primary healthcare.
Beauty Hut Africa operates in beauty retail and distribution, BEYOND Fitness focuses on wellness, Ziba Beach Resort is developing leisure destinations, Tulay Africa connects industrial buyers with African producers of critical minerals, Maanj Agric supports smallholder farmers, while Finger Chops produces and distributes bread.
CEO and Co-Founder of Venco, Chude Osiegbu, said the programme would accelerate the company’s expansion.
“We’re incredibly proud to be part of Cascador’s 2026 ScaleUp Programme. The mentorship, resources and networks the programme provides will accelerate our growth to transform how residential and commercial communities operate across Africa,” he said.
Osiegbu added: “As we scale, our goal is to bring our secure and efficient technology platform to more communities across new cities and countries, giving the managers who run them better tools to serve their residents.”
Cascador said 60 per cent of the businesses in the new cohort are led by women, while the founders come from five of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
Under the programme, participating founders will receive bespoke one-on-one support from investors, African and international experts and strategic partners.
They will also become eligible for follow-on funding through Cascador’s Catalytic Fund, which deploys up to $5 million annually in growth capital through local-currency debt, equity and guarantees in partnership with Sterling Bank.
The 12-week programme comprises two weeks of in-person sessions, including the programme kick-off and pitch week, followed by 10 weeks of virtual sessions for founders and their leadership teams.
The programme will also feature a Live Pitch Day, where participants will have an opportunity to compete for $50,000 in prizes.
CEO of Finger Chops, Adenike Fetuga, said the programme would help the company realise its ambition of becoming a leading African food manufacturing company.
“Finger Chops has been able to grow from a catering service into a trusted full-scale bakery serving communities and businesses. But our vision does not stop there,” she said.
“We want to build a leading African food manufacturing company rooted in quality, locally sourced products and operational excellence.”
She added: “Being selected for Cascador’s 2026 ScaleUp Programme brings us closer to making that vision a reality.”
Since 2019, Cascador said it had supported 70 ventures which have collectively raised more than $125 million in capital.
It added that its alumni delivered essential products and services to more than 1.7 million customers in 2025 alone.
Co-Founder of Cascador, David DeLucia, said: “The next chapter of Nigeria’s entrepreneurial story will be about what happens when proven businesses get the support they need to scale.
“That is the opportunity this cohort brings, where visionaries, innovators and impact-driven leaders can grow their businesses sustainably with lasting economic value.”
