Investor and entrepreneur Nichole Onome Yembra is the founder and managing director of The Chrysalis Company, which is behind The Chrysalis Capital Group, an early stage tech fund specialising in Africa and the Diaspora, and The Chrysalis Advisors, a strategy and investment advisory firm.
“In the very near future, things will click and African tech companies will blow everyone away,” she told Disrupt Africa. “From the funding and advice perspective, there is significant interest, both domestic and internationally.
She previously served as the CFO of the Venture Garden Group and the managing partner for Greenhouse Capital, VGG’s investment arm.
“Whether in Nigeria or India, indigenous companies often struggle to find funding at the early stage of their growth,” she explained. “At Venture Garden Group, we knew this well. While we were able to successfully raise US$20 million from Convergence Partners in 2015, most other African companies struggle to attract funding despite a strong track record of success. So we decided to launch GreenHouse Capital in order to locate and incubate high growth potential startups that could mirror Venture Garden Group’s success.”
As someone committed to the success of women in the tech sphere, Nichole is also the founder of Greenhouse Lab, Nigeria’s first female-focused tech accelerator; and the Garden Women’s Network, an organisation focused on the development and retention of high-performing women in the Nigerian tech ecosystem. She was also a co-founder of Agni Fitness.
Nichole was one of the 200 participants of the inaugural Obama Foundation Leaders: Africa programme. In 2018, she was named one of the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD).
She received a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and a master’s in accounting at Wake Forest University.
Tags: Africa, Diversity and Inclusion, finance, fintech, Investment and Funding, Nigeria
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