At a time like this, when Nigeria is intensifying its campaign towards reducing its overdependence on crude oil, industry analysts say now is the right time to support the next wave of cassava pioneers through financing, partnership, and collaborative platforms that drive real industrial transformation to boost the country’s economy.

To them, with the right investment, Nigeria can transform cassava from a food security crop into a high-value industrial engine, especially as the country already leads globally in cassava production but only processes a meager two per cent domestically.

It is interesting to note that recent studies by the Cassava Investment Accelerator (NCIA), an initiative of the Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, reveal encouraging progress and emerging success stories in the country’s cassava industry.

These success stories are unfolding through the grit and determination of local entrepreneurs who are scaling industrial operations and unlocking new markets.

For these operators, success means achieving consistent feedstock supply, maintaining high utilisation rates, securing affordable capital, and building resilient models that convert cassava into high-value derivatives like bioethanol, starch, high-quality cassava flour and sweeteners.

For instance, the likes of Psaltry International, Niji Foods, and Harvest Feed and Agro Processing Limited (HFAP) have shown that local innovation, backed by structured financing and strategic partnerships, can drive commercial viability at scale, and make cassava not just a crop but a national economic asset.

According to NCIA, Psaltry International exemplifies how a local agribusiness can evolve into a strategic player in Nigeria’s industrial transformation.

Founded in 2005 as a small cassava trading venture, the company has grown into a fully integrated agro-processing enterprise serving multinational clients with starch, sorbitol and high-quality cassava flour.

A key driver of this growth is the firm’s end-to-end sourcing model, which combines over 3,500 in-grower and out-grower farmers. This robust feedstock system supports a processing facility with daily installed capacities of 25 tons of sorbitol, 20 tonnes of starch, 30 tonnes of HQCF, and seven tonnes of garri – allowing the company to maintain consistent utilisation rates and meet diverse market demand.

The firm also holds a first-mover advantage in innovation. It was the first in Africa—and second globally—to produce cassava-based sorbitol locally, reducing Nigeria’s reliance on imports and capturing greater value within the domestic economy.

Beyond operations, Psaltry has also delivered measurable impact. Its model has helped reduce import dependence, create rural employment, and improve infrastructure and living standards in host communities.

This trajectory stands as a blueprint for how entrepreneurial drive, when paired with structured supply chains and strategic investment, can unlock industrial growth in the cassava sector.

The NCIA reveals that Niji Foods and Harvest Feed is also making bold strides in Nigeria’s agro-industrial landscape. A subsidiary of the Niji Group, the company has developed one of Nigeria’s most integrated processing ecosystems.

This company leverages in-house capabilities across equipment manufacturing, mechanisation services, and agricultural training to support its operations. Additionally, it launched a modular starch facility with a 50-ton-per-day input capacity, backed by a 700-hectare block farm to secure feedstock.

Through its structured Services Delivery Model, Niji Foods provides farmers with access to financing, mechanization, input supply, and agronomic training –enabling productivity gains, reliable year-round sourcing, and increased incomes across its out-grower network.

To sustain this tempo, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Niji Group, Mr. Kolawole Adeniji said beyond bioethanol, starch, sweeteners, and HQCF, another high-value cassava derivatives that offer the most significant untapped potential for local entrepreneurs is fufu.

He said, “One of the most promising yet underexplored cassava products is fufu, particularly the odourless variety. With the right investment in resources and automation of its processing lines, fufu can be commercialised at scale.

“Its potential is significant, as it can compete favourably with popular maize-based derivatives such as semovita. By standardising production and ensuring consistent quality, odourless fufu could become a mainstream staple, opening new opportunities for local entrepreneurs in both domestic and export markets.”

Adeniji noted that while Nigeria is recognised as the largest producer of cassava globally, the crucial production is not as effective as it should be. “The country has the potential to achieve much higher yields, but inefficiencies mean that the current volume falls short of expectations. Compounding this challenge is the fact that most machines imported for cassava processing are not well-suited to cassava.

“They are often designed for crops like potatoes. In addition, the industry faces a shortage of skilled local fabricators, the prevalence of poorly made equipment, and high running costs that force operators to overload machines, reducing efficiency and profitability.”

Like the above firms, Harvest Feed and Agro Processing Limited has become an emerging force in Nigeria’s cassava industrialisation space. Founded in 2001 as poultry feed enterprise, the company has since expanded into agro-processing, commissioning a standardized cassava starch facility in Ajura, Ogun State.

HFAP now produces food and industrial-grade starch for clients across the food, chemical, and manufacturing industries. With a strong commitment to quality, innovation, and sustainability, HFAP is focused on scaling its operations and strengthening market credibility to effectively serve its customers.

The Director of Harvest Feed and Agro Processing Limited, Mr. Adedamola Adeyemi also affirmed that Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of cassava, yet only a small portion of this production is processed into higher-value industrial products such as starch, ethanol, and flour.”

He noted that the wide gap between production and processing is largely due to infrastructural, logistical, and productivity constraints that limit efficiency and scalability across the value chain. To unlock Nigeria’s cassava potential, he maintained that infrastructural, logistical, and yield constraints need to be overcome.

The NCIA noted that together, these companies are reshaping perceptions of cassava from subsistence crop to industrial growth engine.

It added that the entrepreneurs have demonstrated that cassava industrialisation in Nigeria is investable. They pointed out that bankable opportunities exist when projects are built around strong sourcing models, clear product-market fit, operational excellence, and capable leadership.

The funders, however, said that to unlock scale, many businesses require appropriately structured capital, particularly long-term financing and blended instruments that align with agricultural realities.