Announced in celebration of International Youth Day 2026, the program will award top-performing founders up to ₦5 million in non-dilutive funding
14 August 2026, Abuja – The Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD), through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA), today announced a new partnership with Cascador, a Nigeria-focused platform for growth-stage founders, to fund and support the next generation of Nigerian youth entrepreneurs. The announcement coincides with International Youth Day 2026, whose global theme this year — “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations” — calls on institutions to close the gap between young people’s circumstances and their opportunities.
The NiYA × Cascador Founders Program will run as a pilot cohort of 20 early-stage Nigerian youth founders, many without formal business registration or a financial track record. Over an intensive four-week curriculum, they’ll develop business fundamentals, investment readiness, and pitch preparation. At the program’s close, the eight top-performing founders will receive non-dilutive funding of up to ₦5 million each from Cascador, along with an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution to help structure, manage, and scale their business operations, at a NiYA/FMYD-organised Pitch Day.
The pilot is an early step toward NiYA’s broader ambition to train and empower 7 million Nigerian youth within two years.
“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 Minister said.
The program pairs NiYA and FMYD’s reach into Nigeria’s youth ecosystem with Cascador’s experience preparing founders for capital. NiYA and FMYD manage sourcing, training, and day-to-day delivery; Cascador helps define eligibility criteria, supports the cohort’s investment readiness, judges the participants’ pitches, and funds the program’s top performers.
“NiYA and FMYD have already shown what real commitment to Nigeria’s youth looks like — the platforms, the reach, the ambition to train millions. What we’re building together now is the missing piece, a practical bridge from the ideation stage to real capital-readiness. When a Ministry so dedicated to its young people asked Cascador to help build that bridge, it was an easy decision,” said Trish Thomas, CEO of Cascador.
Oyin Solebo, COO of Cascador and former Managing Director of the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator, highlighted the partnership’s impact, saying, “This is what innovative capital deployment looks like: a government building real investment readiness at scale, and a partner meeting that foundational work with non-dilutive funding at exactly the moment it’s needed. Partnerships like this open doors that neither of us could open alone.”
“The Minister for Youth also speaks on what the pilot represents, stating, “The pilot is deliberately designed to test a model that can go beyond one 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. That is the larger objective: to build a youth entrepreneurship ecosystem in which readiness, ideas and execution can increasingly determine who gets the opportunity to grow.”
The pilot will run in-person in Abuja with virtual touchpoints and 1:1 mentorship. All 20 graduates retain NiYA alumni status, with priority consideration for future opportunities.
Applications will open on Wednesday 19th August 2026. Interested youth entrepreneurs can visit www.niya.gov.ng to learn more and apply.
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About the Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD) and NiYA
The Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD) is the Federal Government of Nigeria’s institution responsible for providing strategic leadership and a sustainable framework for policies, programmes, and initiatives that empower young Nigerians and enhance their participation in national development. The Ministry works with government institutions, private-sector organisations, development partners, and other stakeholders to expand opportunities for youth in areas including skills development, entrepreneurship, employment, innovation, digital transformation, leadership, and economic participation.
The Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA) is a flagship digital platform of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development designed to provide Nigerian youth with access to learning, skills development, opportunities, resources, and programmes that support their personal and professional growth. Through a digital-first approach, NiYA seeks to connect young Nigerians to relevant training, entrepreneurship support, career opportunities, grants, mentorship, and other interventions, creating a more accessible and coordinated ecosystem for youth development.
Together, FMYD and NiYA are advancing a more connected, empowered, and opportunity-driven generation of Nigerian youth, equipping them with the knowledge, skills, networks, and opportunities required to contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s socio-economic development.
About Cascador
Cascador is a Nigeria-focused platform for growth-stage founders building businesses that make an impact. Through Cascador ScaleUp, its flagship program, Cascador works with an elite cohort of entrepreneurs to strengthen their leadership and sharpen their strategy, preparing them to scale successfully. ScaleUp alumni gain exclusive access to the Catalytic Fund, which deploys up to $5M USD in capital annually through a blend of debt and equity investments. Since 2019, Cascador has supported 70 companies that have collectively raised over $125 million. Today, alumni are driving innovation, creating jobs, raising investment capital, winning awards, and changing the face of the African economy. Learn more at www.cascador.org
