Chi Achebe

IWA Team

April 28, 2026

CHI ACHEBE
Founder/Managing Partner, Achebe Capital

Chi Achebe is the Founder and Managing Partner of Achebe Capital, a seed-stage VC fund that invests in care, climate action, commerce, and culture across the US & Africa. 

Backed by Melinda French Gates, Chi Achebe has invested in multiple unicorns, including Flutterwave ($3B), Brex ($12.3B), and Republic. Achebe is committed to invest in Africa, the African diaspora and new Americans of all backgrounds. They prioritise teams that are gender-balanced, which they define as having at least one female founder / member of the leadership team.

They are also very particular about start-ups that strive to make a meaningful impact – whether it be social, wellbeing, economic, environmental, or cultural.

Furthermore, Achebe Capital invests in teams raising pre-seed, seed, and Series A rounds. They target 5% ownership in pre-seed, seed, and Series A tech-enabled companies based in sub-Saharan Africa with an average check size of up to $500,000. They may invest opportunistically in later stage rounds.

In addition, they are industry agnostic, with a preference for companies that build highly scalable solutions at the protocol layer and address key infrastructural challenges. E.g., fintech, SaaS, healthcare, and marketplaces.

Before Achebe Capital, Chi led global GTM strategy at YouTube, enhanced VC fund performance tracking at Citi Bank, founded an award-winning health tech startup in South Africa, and built The Anzisha Prize, a pan-African entrepreneurship award and accelerator programme that was anchored by a multi-million dollar commitment from The MasterCard Foundation and African Leadership Group (named one of Africa’s most innovative companies in 2016 by Fast Company). 

Chi holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania (with distinction) and an MBA from Columbia Business School (Feldberg Scholar). 

She advises on early stage / angel investing, launching a VC firm, VC investing in Africa, building a personal brand, fundraising, life and career, coaching, getting into top MBA programmes and business in frontier markets.

Chi defines herself as a resilient first generation Nigerian American who has navigated multiple worlds and served as a bridge her entire life. She has also experienced first hand the challenges of raising capital when she and her bold vision for impacting the world didn’t fit the typical VC mold. And so Chi set out to build a VC firm that she needed as a founder. 

During the pandemic, Chi decided to bet on herself. She poured her personal savings into building her track record and has amassed an outperforming angel portfolio that includes multiple unicorn companies that include Bamboo, Brex, Film Hedge, Flutterwave,

Forage, Form Energy, Juno Medical, Magic Fund, Republic, Sabi, and Zimi.

Chi is passionate about sharing her experiences and helping others identify their gifts, manifest their calling and dreams.