West African Support for Small and Mid-Scale Agro Startup (WASSMAS) is a scam grant scheme that tells applicants they have qualified and then asks for a ₦9,350 payment before disbursement under the claim of a “training and identity verification fee”. Evidence seen from the application portal and reports from applicants show a consistent pattern where users are congratulated, marked as qualified, and told to make payment within a short deadline.
Applicants who log into WASSMAS website will see a message on their dashboard page that reads “Welcome back, WASSMAS,” with a status clearly marked as “QUALIFIED.” The applicant will also see a message stating, “Congratulations! You have successfully qualified for the WASSMAS grant program.” The same page includes a button labelled “Start Disbursement,” followed by a warning asking applicants to complete the next step within 48 hours to secure a priority funding slot.
However, instead of disbursement, applicants are redirected to a payment confirmation page. The page lists a payment reference tagged “WAS-7A3TMT” and requests payment for “Training materials / Identity verification fee.” The WASSMAS bank account for payment is Opay, with account number 6421090045 and account name West African Agro Ventures. Applicants are instructed to use the narration tag “WAS-7A3TMT” when making the transfer. The amount requested is ₦9,350.
Before we proceed, Nigeria Startup News can confirm that WASSMAS grant is scam. Do not be fooled by its fake $5,000 to $10,000 agro grant claims.
We continue.
The payment page further states that the transaction ID will serve as the payment reference. It also includes a note claiming the payment covers “the cost of third-party verification that will be carried out by www.metamap.com and training materials for your selected field / farm.”
Applicants are then prompted to confirm submission after payment.
This claim is the script the scammer is using to collect money from applicants. No real grant will ask you for money.
On the WASSMAS portal, there is a fake countdown timer for “Batch A Registration,” displaying days, hours, minutes, and seconds, with a stated deadline of January 02, 2026. Despite these claims, the dashboard shows zero active applications after payment prompts. This is further proof that WASSMAS grant is fake, and should be avoided at all cost.
Several other applicants have also reported receiving the same qualification message, payment demand, and the countdown timer warning.
WASSMAS claims that payment is compulsory before any funds can be released. This method follows a common online scam pattern where victims are pressured with deadlines and asked to pay small amounts under official-sounding labels.
Note that genuine grants do not require beneficiaries to pay verification, training, or processing fees before receiving funds. The use of fintech accounts like OPay, narration tags, and payment deadlines contradicts standard grant disbursement practices.
Applicants and the public are advised to exercise caution, avoid making payments, and share this information to prevent others from sending money to WASSMAS.
“WASSMAS is a scam grant” – Nigeria Startup News
Wow! Many have already given their account no, but as they see they amount to be paid, they know it’s scam. But how can they protect their account?