Participants hail CEO leadership programme

Participants at the 2021 cohort of Cascador entrepreneur programme have hailed the initiative, saying it arms chief executives with the necessary skills and tools to navigate emerging challenges.

The programme is an intensive, in-depth examination of entrepreneurs’ leadership skills and business plans administered by veteran mentors before six months of mentorship.

The 2021 cohort was held from November 1 to 5 at the Lagos Business School all at no cost to participants.

Commenting on the training, one of the participants, Babatunde Akin-Moses, CEO of Sycamore, a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending technology-enabled platform, described the programme as brilliant and life-changing.

He said: “Ten of us were chosen from a larger pool of individuals who visited www.cascador.org to apply. So, the class was small enough to give personal attention to everyone.”

Besides Sycamore, other CEOs at the programme were Deola Balogun, Adeshina Adewumi John, Bisola Adeniyi, Preston Timeyin Ideh, Ebun Feludu, Olufemi Idowu, Taibat Dayo-Amzat, Tunde Salako and Paballo Mokoqo.

“From branding to scaling, pitching to hiring, it was all around taking our businesses to the next level. Notable entrepreneurs and business executives like Iyin Aboyeji, Affi Williams, Chidi Okoro, Niyi Yusuf, Okey Nwuke, Dee Abudu and many others shared their experiences. So everything was practical,” Akin-Moses said.

He enjoined other entrepreneurs to take advantage of the training 2022, saying it would be worth it because of the valuable experience.

“If you are an early to mid-stage entrepreneur, I’d strongly recommend Cascador. There’s only one cohort per year so you will have to wait for 2022 and it is very competitive to get in but worth it.

You will learn from experienced business people, network with great entrepreneurs,” Akin-Moses said.