Cascador

Mene Blessing is the Chief Executive Officer of Vetsark Limited, an agritech company that provides farmers with financing, training, inputs, and market access through its Prosperity Model, and which implements projects for organizations including the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Nigeria. He co-founded Cascador and serves as a director at enFocus, as well as a facilitator at Fundraising Academy (FRACAD), where he trains entrepreneurs and nonprofits on securing funding. Over the past decade, he has helped founders, nonprofits, and SMEs raise more than $40 million in grants, equity, and debt across Africa, the United States, and Europe.

Ali Kennedy is Director of Marketing North America at frank green, with over 20 years of experience leading marketing teams across in-house and agency environments. Kennedy has worked with B2B and B2C brands including Danone, L'Oreal, Life Time Fitness, Subaru, and The North Face, with demonstrated expertise in brand strategy, customer acquisition and retention, and cross-functional team leadership.

Amanda Etuk is Program Director at Cascador and a 2025 Raisina Young Fellow. She works in venture growth, operations management, and public-private sector coordination, focusing on connecting entrepreneurs, investors, and institutions across African markets to support venture scaling and ecosystem development.

Faith Oyovota is Director of Events at Cascador Nigeria and Creative Director of Events by Fay, bringing nearly a decade of experience in project management and event planning. Her work focuses on executing events that align with organizational objectives through project management and stakeholder communication.

Oyin Solebo is Chief Operating Officer at Cascador, a growth-stage accelerator that provides capital and business support to founders across Africa. She previously served as Managing Director at Techstars, where she launched and led the ARM Labs Lagos accelerator and invested in 24 African startups, and co-founded Movemeback, a talent community platform connecting professionals to African opportunities. Solebo also advises at Cone Ventures Studio, sits on the board of GiveDirectly, and has held roles in private wealth management at Goldman Sachs and strategy consulting at Roland Berger.

Trish Thomas serves as Executive Director of the Empowering Economic Growth Foundation and CEO of Cascador, a growth-stage entrepreneurship program in Nigeria. With over 20 years of experience founding and leading companies across technology, healthcare, and advertising sectors, she holds a BS in Computer Information Systems and an MBA in Management & Strategy. Thomas serves on multiple boards including the Leeds School of Business at CU Boulder and the Women's College at the University of Denver, and mentors entrepreneurs through Techstars, the Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network, and the Unreasonable Institute.