The event, now in its second year, was attended by over 300 investors, lenders, mentors and ecosystem stakeholders to engage with founders building and expanding businesses across different sectors.

Pitch Day is the final stage of Cascador’s annual Catalytic Fund programme, through which the organisation provides financing and support to founders who have completed its ScaleUp programme.

Funding is offered through a mix of debt and equity investments, with recipients selected based on business performance, growth potential and expected social impact.

The largest funding allocation went to Agriarche, led by Deina Mayaki, which secured a ₦2.5 billion debt facility. Koolboks, founded by Deborah Gael, received ₦2 billion, while Powerstove, led by Okey Esse, secured ₦1.8 billion.

Other debt recipients included First Electric, which received ₦500 million, and Fortics, which secured ₦200 million. Two companies received equity investments, with Stears obtaining $450,000 and Indigenius AI receiving $250,000.

Speaking after receiving the funding, Mayaki said the support would help boost Agriarche’s expansion plans.

“Cascador’s ScaleUp program built upon my team’s ability to translate learning into action by helping us refine our message and market position, adjust our funding strategy, and adapt without defensiveness. 

“The Catalytic Fund due diligence team assessed Agriarche’s financial strength, resourcefulness, and track record of success, and they rewarded our high-potential for scale and impact today by awarding a new N2.5 billion credit facility to power our growth.”

Cascador founder Dave DeLucia said the programme has now distributed over $9 million to entrepreneurs since Pitch Day was introduced two years ago.

“In just two years, Pitch Day has awarded more than $9 million to growth-stage African founders, helping to build a new generation of entrepreneurs equipped to scale transformative businesses.

“We’re now looking for the next cohort of exceptional founders to join our 2026 ScaleUp program and hope to see them on stage at the next Pitch Day.”

Beyond the investment awards, organisers also recognised outstanding participants. Indigenius AI received the NSIA Prize for Innovation, which came with a $10,000 award, while Koolboks won the judges’ Best Pitch prize and received an additional $10,000.

The event also featured a panel discussion on financing options for growth-stage businesses in Nigeria. Participants included Idris Bello of LoftyInc Capital, Danladi Verheijen of Verod Capital, Darlington Nwankwo of Sterling Bank, Ada Osakwe of Agrolay Ventures and Nuli, and Ijeoma Taylaur of NSIA.

The session examined how businesses can access equity financing, working capital, concessionary debt and other forms of long-term support.

Daniel Ayoade of Verod Capital Management, who served as one of the judges, alongside Iyin Aboyeji of Future Africa and Nneka Eze of Vested World, said his involvement with the programme had shown the importance of preparing founders before funding is provided.

“Two years judging Pitch Day, plus a season as faculty for the Cascador ScaleUp program, taught me something the term sheets never capture: capital readiness, not capital, is what turns funding into scale. 

“The founders on stage today walk away with customer pipelines, team training, mentorship, and bespoke support, the connective tissue that lets them multiply what they raise. This is not an accelerator. It is ecosystem architecture, and these founders are its proof.”

Two previous beneficiaries of the Catalytic Fund also shared updates on their businesses.

Babatunde Akin-Moses, founder of Sycamore, said the support received from Cascador helped strengthen the company ahead of a recent fundraising exercise.

“Truly catalytic capital should create companies that eventually no longer need it: That is what it did for Sycamore. Our recent commercial paper raise was oversubscribed by 230%.”

Drive45 founder Seyi Adefemi said access to both funding and strategic support helped the company move beyond a critical growth stage.

“There are founders across Africa solving real problems and building resilient businesses. What they often lack is the financial and non-financial support to cross the gap between potential and scale. Cascador helped Drive45 cross that gap.”

Since launching in 2019, Cascador says it has supported 70 companies that have collectively raised more than $125 million.

Applications for the next ScaleUp programme are open until June 15 for founders across sub-Saharan Africa seeking funding, mentorship and business support.

Data analytics solutions have become indispensable tools for companies across various industries, enabling them to extract valuable insights from their data. If you’re wondering whether your company could benefit from a data analytics solution, here are six signs to consider:

1. Data Overload

Is your organization drowning in data? If you find it challenging to manage and derive meaningful insights from the massive volumes of data you collect, it’s a clear sign that a data analytics solution could help. These solutions are designed to handle and analyze large datasets efficiently.

2. Limited Data Visibility

Do you struggle to gain visibility into your company’s operations, customer behavior, or financial performance? Data analytics can provide a holistic view of your business by consolidating data from various sources and presenting it in a comprehensible format, allowing you to make more informed decisions.

3. Manual Data Processing

If your team spends excessive time manually processing data or generating reports, it’s a sign that your processes could be automated with the help of data analytics tools. Automation can significantly reduce human error and free up valuable time for strategic tasks.

4. Reactive Decision-Making

Are you often reacting to issues or market changes rather than proactively anticipating them? Data analytics can empower your company to predict trends, identify potential challenges, and make proactive decisions to stay ahead of the competition.

5. Ineffective Marketing Campaigns

Struggling to achieve your marketing goals? Data analytics can enhance your marketing efforts by providing insights into customer preferences, segmenting your audience effectively, and measuring the success of your campaigns. This can lead to more targeted and successful marketing strategies.

6. Competitive Pressure

Are your competitors leveraging data analytics to gain a competitive edge? Falling behind in the data-driven race can put your company at a significant disadvantage. Implementing data analytics can help level the playing field and potentially surpass your competition.

Now that you’ve identified the signs, you might wonder where to start. We’ve compiled a list of six companies that you can trust to help you harness the power of your data.

Leveraging Data Analytics for Business Growth

Six Data Analytics Companies You Can Trust

1. Data Scientists Network (DSNai)

AI technology for health, education, financial inclusion, and agriculture in emerging markets, DSNai is on a mission is to raise 1 million AI talents in Nigeria and develop AI solutions that improve the quality of life for 2 billion people in emerging markets. They specialize in building adaptable infrastructure and local datasets for last-mile deployment of Generative AI applications.

2. Rise Network

Rise Network is also focused on Data Science, Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence Powered Learning, Research, and Work Readiness. The company is a social enterprise dedicated to skills development, digital transformation, and governance innovation. It aims at the dynamic trends of the 4th Industrial Revolution and offers solutions to enhance individuals’ skills, drive digital transformation in organizations, and innovate governance in the public sector.

3. Dataleum

Dataleum is building a global talent accelerator, with a strong emphasis on excellence in Data Analytics. It aims to bridge the global skills gap by providing value-packed and cost-effective Data Analytics skill sets, both in-person and remotely. It is also producing world-class Data Analysts and Scientists, while connecting them with top partner companies across Africa and the world.

4. Hyperspace Technologies

Developing solutions using Web3 technologies for a more secure and transparent internet, Hyperspace Technologies specializes in utilizing blockchain and decentralized technologies to create a secure and transparent internet. It offers a range of tools, including decentralized applications (DApps) and smart contracts.

5. Tarragon Group

Tarragon Group focuses on the “mobile-first African market” and offers data platforms to enrich first-party data and understand African consumers. Building Africa’s largest data-powered marketing cloud ecosystem, it aims to provide intelligent and meaningful experiences to consumers on mobile.

6. Stears

On a mission to become the world’s most trusted source of African data and insight, Stears leverages domain expertise and technology to build information products for global businesses and professionals, covering various sectors such as financial services, fintech, digital commerce, transport, energy, and agriculture.

Each of these companies specializes in data analytics solutions and may offer unique features and expertise. To determine which one aligns best with your company’s needs, be sure to reach out to them for more information and explore their capabilities.

In conclusion, recognizing the signs that your company could benefit from a data analytics solution is the first step towards making data-driven decisions that can drive growth and efficiency. By partnering with a trusted company, you can unlock the full potential of your data and gain a competitive advantage in today’s fast-paced business environment.

Other notable investors were Serena Ventures, Omidyar Group’s Luminate Fund, Melo 7 Tech Partners and Cascador — Empowering Economic Growth Foundation.

Stears, which was among Google for Startups Black Founders Fund 2022 cohort, will leverage the fund to enhance its data collection and analytics capabilities, hire data scientists, data analysts and sector analysts, and expand to Kenya in East Africa, South Africa and Egypt in North Africa.

Michael Famoroti, Bode Ogunlana, Abdul Abdulrahim, and Preston Ideh, founded Stears in 2017 as a media publication company focused on financial news and insights in Nigeria. The goal was to address the insufficiency of information and data-driven insights in the country.

With the new investment, Stears is planning to modify its product and is working with international development and financial institutions to produce proprietary and exclusive datasets that are not yet in existence.

The startup will now go beyond reporting insights from sourced data, to collating data, engaging in deep data analytics and presenting it to business customers in several formats.

Two years ago, Stears raised $650 million in pre-seed funding. So far, its enterprise customers contribute over 75% of revenues, increasing from 45% in 2021. It also expects revenues to double from last year as half-year revenues for 2022 have already surpassed full-year revenues for 2021. This is compared to the 80% revenue growth between FY 2021 and FY 2020.