…opens investment doors for children from underserved backgrounds

By Chinedu Adonu

Founder of a nonprofit organization, When We Grow Up, Kristofer Madu is on a mission to inspire young people who lack access to opportunity to pursue high-impact, high-paying careers such as investing, finance, and technology.

Once a kid in Nashville who dreamed of becoming a rapper, Madu stumbled into the world of private equity after spending time in the music industry. He realized that success in the industry often involves understanding the right opportunities and navigating complex industries—skills he learned through his career.

Now 25 and living in San Francisco, with a résumé showcasing $150 billion in investment deals, Madu is one of the few Black professionals in private equity, where minority representation remains low.

Recognizing that many young people from low-income and underserved backgrounds lack exposure to diverse career options, he launched When We Grow Up to broaden their horizons.

Recently, Madu visited West Oakland Middle School, speaking to students about careers in investment, finance, and technology. He emphasized that knowledge is power and encouraged students to learn about professions they may not have previously encountered in their communities.

Using relatable examples like buying and selling Skittles, he explained the fundamentals of private equity and the importance of hard work, good grades, and curiosity. Madu also brought in Evan Mays, a researcher at OpenAI, to discuss careers in artificial intelligence, showing students that many paths are accessible with knowledge and dedication.

His message was clear: no matter your background or dreams, education and curiosity can help you achieve anything. Through his nonprofit and outreach, Kristofer Madu aims to expand what young people believe is possible—showing them that they can become investors, scientists, entrepreneurs, or anything they aspire to be.

His work is about inspiring the next generation to see beyond limited futures and believe in their potential.

“There’s so many things in the world that you can be when you grow up,” he said. “But what we’re calling on you to do is to continue to research and ask questions so that you’re never turning down an opportunity because you don’t understand it.”

“it could be finance, artificial intelligence, software engineering, a dream of being a doctor or astrophysicist or a neurosurgeon.
Even if that dream is to be an athlete,” Madu said. “Your responsibility, your duty is to learn everything you can about that thing so that you’re never in a situation where someone is showing you four pictures and there’s one that you don’t know. So your knowledge is your power,” he said.

After the talk was over, seventh-grader Jacqueline Martin stopped before heading to her next class to offer her thoughts, saying, “I learned I could be anything I want to be and it’s not that hard. But more than that, it was very powerful seeing people who came from similar backgrounds doing things we don’t usually see.”

In a recent exclusive interview, Madu encouraged young Nigerians who are looking to break into the finance and tech industries to master fundamentals like accounting, reach out to mentors, and take initiative without waiting for permission.

His work aims to change the narrative for young people from underserved backgrounds, showing them that they too can become investors, scientists, entrepreneurs, or whatever they aspire to be.