Three startups have recently completed Antler’s first Lagos residency, wrapping up an eight-week sprint designed to turn early-stage ideas into investable businesses.
Three startups have recently completed Antler’s first Lagos residency, wrapping up an eight-week sprint designed to turn early-stage ideas into investable businesses.
Antler’s model, already tested in global tech hubs from Singapore to New York, is built on compression. Founders move from concept to prototype in a matter of weeks.
Beyond investing, Antler stays as a long-term partner providing advice, introductions, resources, and follow-on funding, all the way to their exit. Antler is the investor backing the world’s most driven founders, from day zero to greatness.
In Lagos, that formula is already showing results from its first cohort. The three teams span different sectors, from edtech (Cubbes), food security (Forti Foods), and equipment financing (Raba), but share a common thread: solving local problems with scalable solutions.
Each startup has gained measurable traction, convincing Antler to back them as part of its growing African portfolio.
For Antler, the success of its first residency demonstrates a growing confidence in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem. A second cohort is already in motion, and the firm is betting that structured speed and local execution can produce globally competitive companies from Africa’s most dynamic tech city.
The three startups have chosen a distinct way to tackle old problems with fresh thinking. Here’s a closer look at who they are, what they’re solving, and why Antler believes they’re worth betting on.
Co-founded by Peter Adeyemi (CEO) and Emmanuel Akinyele (CTO), Cubbes is a digital learning platform transforming how African students access and manage study materials.
Cubbes integrates AI tutors, flashcards, and smart planners to centralize course content and streamline academic organization. The platform enhances study efficiency, performance, and accessibility for university students across Africa.
A second-time founder and former finance professional at PwC, Peter brings a unique blend of financial discipline, operational expertise, and entrepreneurial grit to his leadership.
Before founding Cubbes, he served as Chief Operating Officer at Curacel (YC W22), where he helped scale the insurtech startup across multiple African markets and built the operational systems that powered its growth.
He is also a University of Ilorin scholar and top-of-class graduate who experienced firsthand the challenges Cubbes now solves – limited access to learning resources, outdated academic systems, and fragmented student engagement channels.
Emmanuel is a software engineer and product architect with deep expertise in building scalable, AI-powered learning technologies for emerging markets.
A former Andela engineer, Emmanuel has spent the last several years designing robust systems that bridge technology and education. His experience spans software architecture, data-driven platforms, and AI deployment for consumer and enterprise products.
Since its launch in 2024, Cubbes has empowered over 50,000 students across more than 100 institutions in Nigeria and Uganda.
Students using Cubbes have reported over 50% improvement in academic performance and reduced study stress through personalized learning tools.
The platform has also processed a significant amount in digital transactions, driving adoption of localized edtech solutions across the continent.
The Cubbes team enables individuals to become better in all areas of their lives and work. According to the co-founders, Cubbes strive for a world of well-rounded, well-developed and well-shaped happy and fulfilled individuals.
Cubbes is an essential tool for students in higher institutions. Built for students’ needs and pre-loaded with each institution’s details.
According to the co-founders, Cubbes wants a world with seamless access to resources and tools to make everyday living better through the use of technology in improving students’ learning experiences and outcomes.
Founded by Adenike Adekunle, Forti Foods is a pioneering African food innovation company reimagining ready-to-eat meals with balanced nutrition and targeted taste, leveraging R&D and Nutrient Mapping to fuel missions and crisis relief.
With over a decade of experience in the food and hospitality industry, she blends entrepreneurial expertise with a bold mission to make nutrition, convenience, and dignity accessible at scale.
Her journey began in London, where she co-founded a meal-prep company, acquired and exited a restaurant franchise, and created Café NG at the Nigerian High Commission, a living showcase of Nigerian hospitality that remains active today.
The company partners with defence agencies, humanitarian programs, and institutional feeding initiatives to deliver affordable, nutritious, and waste-free meals that require no cooking or cold chain.
With a 12-month shelf life and locally relevant recipes, Forti Foods bridges convenience, nutrition, and cultural familiarity, ensuring every meal is both functional and familiar.
The company has gained significant traction within the defence sector, is expanding into retail through its “Chops by Forti Foods” line, and is positioned to supply over one million meals annually across defence and institutional markets.
Forti Foods’ model combines commercial scale with social impact, building a sustainable food ecosystem that enables Africa to feed itself and the world.
By localising production and building reliable supply chains, Forti Foods is proving that impact and scalability can create a model that delivers business value while advancing food security and resilience across Africa.
Since launching, Forti Foods has achieved strong traction, producing fortified ready-to-eat meals with a 12-month shelf life, expanding into retail with its “Chops by Forti Foods” line, and positioning to supply over one million meals annually across defence, institutional, and relief sectors.
Raba is a lease-to-own financing platform that enables equipment dealers to embed financing options for small and medium-sized businesses.
By providing liquidity, risk infrastructure, and seamless dealer tools, Raba makes equipment ownership accessible and affordable for SMEs across sectors such as food processing and manufacturing.
The company has established strong traction through its growing network of dealers, businesses, and financing partners, driving industrial productivity and empowering small businesses across Africa.
Since its launch, Raba has financed hundreds of productive assets for businesses across food service, production, and processing verticals
Bola Kazeem is the CEO & Co-founder of Raba. Before founding Raba, Bola spent nearly a decade building and managing high-impact products across healthcare(Reliance Health), mobility(MAX NG) & agriculture(Babban Gona), and designing systems that improved access, efficiency, and scale for thousands of African entrepreneurs.
He later extended his career to the United States, where he built and managed sales and finance products for Private Equity-backed software companies, deepening his expertise in operational excellence and financial technology.
Those experiences shaped his conviction that Africa’s path to industrialization runs through its SMEs. The food processors, production facilities, and service providers he serves today form the backbone of the continent’s economy.
Opeyemi Bolarinwa is also the Coo & Co-founder of Raba. Before his Raba journey, Opeyemi led Business & Risk teams across leading fintechs and commercial banks, including First Bank, P2Vest, Rosabon, and Page Financials.
With his expertise in building and optimizing financing systems with strong legal, compliance, and risk management frameworks, he has led secured and unsecured lending operations for over nine years, scaling startups from early traction to maturity.
As a visionary business leader, he has experience driving growth and operational excellence across financial services, fintech, and commercial banking.
Opeyemi is skilled in strategic partnerships, team leadership, and translating strategy into sustainable, profitable execution. He brings the expertise and conviction that Raba can help industrialize Africa’s economy.
Featured Image: Antler Lagos First Cohort
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