In four years, small and medium-sized businesses in Nigeria have raised $23 million in growth capital, according to Cascador, an accelerator program for mid-stage entrepreneurs in Africa building mission-driven businesses.
Dave DeLucia, a co-founder of Cascador, revealed this in a statement following the alumni banquet held at Victoria Island, Lagos.
He claimed that over the course of its operations in Nigeria’s last four years, it had a profound effect on the lives of numerous business owners.
“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,” he said.
DeLucia stated that Cascador was looking at doubling the number of beneficiaries and making more impact on the country’s economy in the next six years.
He said, “In the next four to six years, we should have at least 100 companies in our alumni portfolio, helping each of them raise funds, and improve their leadership and scale.
“At Cascador, we are solving these 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.
“In regard to leadership development, we give them assessment data and coaching to identify their strengths and then we help them build on that strength to develop an effective team.”
Blessing Mene, a co-founder of Cascador, noted that the accelerator program concentrated on businesses that had raised money effectively, had significant yearly sales, and had a staff of at least 10 workers that were prepared to scale exponentially.
She said, “The type of entrepreneurs we 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.”
Mene added that Cascador helped more seasoned entrepreneurs who were trying very hard to grow by 10 times and make a significant real-world impact.
According to Meme, “Business challenges and the requirements to be successful are universal. 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.”
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