Nichole Yembra is the Founder and Managing Director of The Chrysalis Company, an investment and advisory firm that backs technology-driven businesses that are solving problems in Africa and emerging markets.
She focuses on financing companies that address essential human needs of food, energy, education, financial access, employment, and healthcare.
The Chrysalis Company is an investment and advisory firm with offices in Lagos, London, New York, and Bengaluru. It focuses on early-stage tech startups across Africa and the African diaspora. It manages a $15 million fund that invests in startups solving essential problems in finance, health, education, and utilities.
Chrysalis stands out because of how it blends money with expert advice. Startups get early-stage investment through The Chrysalis Capital and strategic guidance through Chrysalis Advisors.
Unlike firms that stick to one sector, Chrysalis is a generalist with a deep focus on Africa and its diaspora. It focuses only on companies solving problems related to people’s access to money, healthcare, learning, or basic utilities. The capital allocator also prioritises gender inclusion by supporting women-led businesses through dedicated programs.
Nichole Yembra
Before founding Chrysalis, Nichole Yembra built a career in finance and tech. She served as Chief Financial Officer at Venture Garden Group (VGG), one of Nigeria’s leading fintech firms and co-founded GreenHouse Capital, VGG’s investment arm. There, she helped manage a portfolio of 14 startups and secured early investments in game-changers like Flutterwave.
She also played a significant role in shaping Nigeria’s digital social investment infrastructure, helping drive improvements in public revenue assurance and digitising education initiatives that positively impacted over 10 million Nigerians.
Results that speak volumes
Since launching Chrysalis, Nicole Yembra and her team have backed several companies, with those startups collectively raising more than $63 million. They have achieved a 7.5 times return on portfolio company exit in an 18-month holding period. Portfolio companies have also created nine thousand jobs.
Some of their key portfolio companies include:
- Sabi: The largest B2B company digitising informal trade in Africa, enabling access to hard-to-reach markets and easing distribution.
- Helium Health: An all-in-one electronic health records and hospital management system simplifying healthcare facility operations.
- Raise: A platform building frictionless asset ownership management for investors, broker-dealers, companies, and law firms.
- Bamboo: Provides access to over 3,000 stocks listed on Nigerian and U.S. exchanges via mobile or computer.
- Bankly: A digital savings and peer-to-peer transfer product using a “Recharge to save” model with vouchers nationwide.
- Koa: A digital savings companion targeting Kenyan millennials with personalised, goal-based saving tools.
- Ladder: Offers an integrated personal finance experience to help users grow their wealth.
- Carrot: A digital lending platform providing access to credit in dollars at low interest rates.
- Arca: A technology platform empowering payments and fostering open banking ecosystems.
Inclusion for women in tech
Nichole Yembra has made it her mission to close the gender gap within the African tech ecosystem. She launched GreenHouse Lab – the country’s first female-focused tech accelerator, offering women-led startups access to funding, mentorship, and networks that are usually out of reach. She also founded the Garden Women’s Network, a platform designed to help women in tech and fintech grow into leadership roles and build sustainable careers.
