Farmers Warned of Suspicious WASSMAS $10,000 Agriculture Grant Programme

Farmers and agribusinesses have been warned about a certain West African Support for Small and Mid-Scale Agro Startups (WASSMAS) Agricultural Grant Programme. 

The grant programme, launched and publicly advertised in December 2025 by WASSMAS, a self-acclaimed non-profit organisation for empowering farmers in  West Africa, called on farmers and agribusiness owners in the region to apply for funding of between $5,000 and $10,000 for their projects.

Applicants have raised alarms about the initiative’s request for a sum of money for training and verification fees, an unlikely trait of a legitimate grant programme and a common red flag indicating potential scam.

Based on the experience shared on social media by some applicants and comments of RecruitmentPQ, a grant and opportunity sharing platform, the grant may be a scam, and farmers are warned against paying any processing fee.

Applicants who shared their experience noted that they were asked to make a payment after receiving an email notification of their shortlisting for the grant. The account for the payment of the “Training Materials/Identity verification fee” was, however, suspicious, one being an Opay account and the other from Moniepoint. Both accounts also show different variations of the organisation’s name. The Opay account 6421090045 uses West African Agro Ventures, while the Moniepoint MFB  account 5196325923 uses the name West Africa Small and Medium Scale Agro Ventures.

It is also important to note that the requested processing fee, which is naira (NGN), is not in the dollar (USD) currency advertised for the grant.

Addressing the issues raised by some of the applicants on social media, RecruitmentPQ shared a post warning them to desist from paying any processing fee for a grant advertised to be free.

Its post reads:

“WASSMAS Grant Important Notice

We are receiving multiple reports of applicants being asked to pay a ₦9,350 processing/verification fee.

Please note:

- WASSMAS has publicly promoted the programme as a grant.

- Genuine grants do not require upfront payments before disbursement.

- Similar schemes in the past used the same tactic and later disappeared.

Our advice: Do not make any payment to anyone for any grant process.

We will continue to monitor and share verified updates only."

Further investigation by the Junction also revealed notable findings that applicants need to take note of.

A quick check of the WASSMAS website (https://www.wassmas.org/) on the WHOIS domain registry showed that the domain was registered in December 2025, just a few days before sharing the grant opportunity and set to expire in 2026.  The site also redacted most of its contact details and used  PO Box 1769, Denver, CO, 80201 as its mailing address, an address commonly used to keep private owners' real details hidden.

Another search on the Corporate Affairs Commission’s company registry to confirm the account names also brought a business just registered on January 1, 2026, with the name WEST AFRICAN SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE AGRO VENTURES and RC - 9152021, matching the Moniepoint account number.

While it will be too hasty to conclude that this grant program is a scam, there are notable flags that need to be taken into consideration and intending applicants need to be careful, especially with the fact that a processing or verification fee is being asked for in a grant application that typically should be free.