Cascador, an Africa-focused platform for growth-stage founders building businesses with social impact, hosted its second annual Pitch Day on June 3rd, 2026, following a successful inaugural event last year. Over $5M of growth capital was deployed to seven innovative African entrepreneurs, who pitched their vision and growth strategies before an influential audience of business leaders and a distinguished panel of judges.
This year’s event brought together more than 300 investors, lenders, mentors, and ecosystem builders for high-value conversations with founders scaling impactful companies across Nigeria.
Pitch Day is the culmination of Cascador’s annual Catalytic Fund deployment cycle, a funding initiative that provides up to $5M per year in tailored support to Cascador’s ScaleUp alumni through a blend of debt and equity investments, while celebrating the entrepreneurs who have grown through its ecosystem. Finalists were selected based on their ability to absorb and multiply the value of capital, education, and networks, as well as their potential for social impact, including job creation and service to underserved communities.
Deina Mayaki of Agriarche, the largest funding recipient from the 2026 Catalytic Fund, shared her experience, “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 N2.5B credit facility to power our growth.”
The 2026 Pitch Day Funding Recipients:
- Deina Mayaki (Agriarche) – Debt ₦2.5B ($1.7M)
- Deborah Gael (Koolboks) – Debt ₦2B ($1.4M)
- Okey Esse (Powerstove)– Debt ₦1.8B ($1.2M)
- Daniel Komolafe (First Electric) – Debt ₦500M ($357K)
- Femi Oyewole (Fortics)– Debt ₦200M ($142K)
- Preston Ideh (Stears)– Equity $450K
- Yinka Iyinolakan (Indigenius AI) – Equity $250K
“In just two years, Pitch Day has awarded more than $9M 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.” Dave DeLucia, Founder of Cascador.
Cascador’s ScaleUp Program works with an elite cohort of entrepreneurs to strengthen leadership, sharpen strategy, and prepare founders to scale sustainably. Through this approach, Cascador is helping build the next generation of high-impact African businesses. Since 2019, it has supported 70 companies that have collectively raised more than $125 million.
Applications for the 2026 ScaleUp Program are open until June 15 to transformative leaders ready to take their companies to the next stage of growth by accessing the connections, resources, and capital required to scale their businesses.
Alongside Iyin Aboyeji of Future Africa and Nneke Eze of Vested World, Daniel Ayoede of Verod Capital Management judged the prize competition for Cascador Pitch Day 2026. Speaking about his experience with Cascador, Ayoede said, “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.”
Special Prizes Awarded
In addition to investment capital, two entrepreneurs received recognition for innovation and pitch quality, with $10k USD awarded by NSIA as a Prize for Innovation won by Indigenius AI and $10k USD awarded by the judges’ panel for Best Pitch, won by Koolboks.
Pitch Day featured a high-level panel discussion titled “Innovative Capital Deployment Structures in Nigeria,” moderated by DeLucia and bringing together leading voices across the investment, financial, and public sector ecosystem, including Idris Bello of LoftyInc Capital, Danladi Verheijen of Verod Capital, Darlington Nwankwo of Sterling Bank, Ada Osakwe of Agrolay Ventures & Nuli, and Ijeoma Taylaur of NSIA. The session will explore creative capital deployment strategies needed to help growth-stage businesses access patient equity, working capital, concessionary debt, and the strategic support required to scale sustainably.
Two 2025 Catalytic Fund capital recipients shared their performance and impact post-funding.
Babatunde Akin-Moses of Sycamore said, “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%.”
Seyi Adefemi of Drive45, the largest capital recipient last year, said, “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.”
Cascador’s alumni are driving innovation, raising investment capital, winning awards, and changing the face of the African economy. CEOs of growth-stage companies across Sub-Saharan Africa who have demonstrated meaningful traction and are ready to take their companies to the next stage of growth are encouraged to apply for the fall Cascador ScaleUp cohort.
