Kwame Anku

Kwame Anku is a seasoned entrepreneur and strategic advisor with a diverse background in business development, media marketing, and venture capital. He is the founding Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Black Star Fund, an early-stage venture capital fund. Named the 2022 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Anku is also one of only 21 recipients of the prestigious Aspen Ascend Fellowship from The Aspen Institute.

Anku entered the tech industry after being personally recruited by the late legendary rock star Prince to develop his mobile app, overseeing business and development teams in Africa, Asia and the US. He later went on to serve as the National Director of Strategic Development for the Prince-inspired #YesWeCode initiative, where he developed corporate and media partnerships throughout the United States.

Anku has appeared as a subject matter expert in media outlets such as CNN, MSNBC, BBC Worldwide, SiriusXM, & National Public Radio. His work garnered two invitations to the Obama White House to share ideas and best practices with leaders from around the United States. Additionally, Anku has delivered keynote addresses and been a featured speaker at Harvard Business School, Stanford Law School, Aspen Ideas Festival, SXSW, TEDx Ghana, Wells Fargo Foundation, Essence Festival, Florida SBDC, Google For Entrepreneurs' Black Wall Street Conference and First-Ever Ghana Tech Summit in West Africa.

Anku serves on the Board of Regents for North Central University, on the board of directors for Actively Black, CEEK Metaverse, Bandwagon, The MOST, Vurple and on the Advisory Board for the Carlsen Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Sacramento State University. He is an honors graduate of Stanford University.