Nigerian Fund Backs Bakeries and Resorts Over Tech Startups

When a Nigerian investment program received over 1,000 applications this year, it did something unusual: it chose the bread baker over the blockchain builder.

Cascador, a Nigeria-focused platform helping businesses scale, just announced its 2026 cohort of ten companies. Among them: an industrial bakery, a beachfront resort, and a wholesale metals trader. These aren't the flashy fintech darlings that usually grab headlines, and COO Oyin Solebo says that's exactly the point.

The final ten include ColdHubs, which provides solar-powered cold storage for farmers, EHA Clinics offering primary healthcare, and SunFi, which finances solar installations. What they share isn't venture capital pedigree but something more valuable: customer receipts and proven business models.

"Many of these founders may never describe themselves as 'startup founders' and may never have raised institutional venture capital," Solebo explains. The applications, more than double last year's pool, revealed entrepreneurial depth hiding beyond the usual tech ecosystem.

The program's approach challenges conventional wisdom about African business. Instead of chasing growth at any cost, Cascador looks for what Solebo calls "learning multipliers," founders who absorb ideas and translate insights into smarter decisions.

Solebo argues Nigeria's funding gap isn't about money shortage but mismatched financing. "A profitable company that needs working capital to fulfill confirmed orders shouldn't necessarily sell permanent equity," she notes. Sometimes the best financial advice is don't raise capital at all.

The 2026 cohort reflects this practical thinking. Sixty percent are women-led businesses from five of Nigeria's six regions, spanning healthcare, agriculture, clean energy, food manufacturing, beauty, fitness, and tourism.

Adenike Fetuga, CEO of Finger Chops bakery, sees the selection as validation. Her company grew from a catering service into a trusted bakery serving communities across Nigeria. "We want to build a leading African food manufacturing company rooted in quality, locally sourced products," she says.

The Ripple Effect

Since 2019, Cascador has supported 70 ventures that collectively raised over $125M. Last year alone, these businesses delivered essential products to more than 1.7 million customers across Nigeria, from solar panels powering rural clinics to cold storage preventing food waste on farms.

The program's evolution mirrors its philosophy. Cascador initially focused heavily on classroom-style education but shifted toward hands-on mentorship after realizing that founders needed practical guidance more than theory.

Solebo emphasizes that smart scaling sometimes means doing less, not more. "Progress is not always synonymous with expansion," she notes. "Sometimes the best decision a founder can make is to narrow the target customer or delay entering a new market."

The diversity of this year's cohort, from Beauty Hut Africa to Ziba Beach Resort to Tulay Africa's property tech, proves Nigerian entrepreneurship thrives far beyond app stores and payment platforms.

Nigeria's next generation of business success might not come from another ride-hailing app but from the bakery feeding communities and the solar company lighting up rural homes.