Ike Chioke | |
|---|---|
| Born | Udi, Enugu State, Nigeria |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Education | B.Sc. Civil Engineering (First Class Honours, Obafemi Awolowo University) M.Phil. Management Studies (Rhodes Scholar, University of Oxford, 1989) |
| Occupation(s) | Investment banker, philanthropist, author |
| Known for | Group Managing Director of Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited; Chairman, Enugu State Security Trust Fund; Central School Obioma rebuild; author of Akpokuedike: Duty Call in Anambra |
| Spouse | Yvonne Chioke |
| Children | 3 |
Ike Chioke is a Nigerian investment banker, philanthropist, and author. He is the Group Managing Director of Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited, a leading investment firm, and has served in key advisory roles in Nigerian governance, including chairing the Enugu State Security Trust Fund and Transition Committee. [1] [2] Chioke is also recognized for his philanthropy, notably rebuilding the Central School Obioma in Enugu State. [3]
Born in Udi, Enugu State, Chioke began his education at Central School Obioma in 1970. [3] He earned a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering with First Class Honours from Obafemi Awolowo University (formerly University of Ife) and later attended the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar (Nigeria & Wadham College, 1989), obtaining an M.Phil. in Management Studies. [4] [5] Since 2017, he has served as National Secretary for the Rhodes Scholarship for West Africa. [6]
Chioke has over 30 years of experience in investment banking, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, project finance, and capital markets, with expertise in telecommunications, media, financial services, and industrial sectors. [4] [7] After working at Arthur Andersen, Goldman Sachs, Salomon Smith Barney, and Citigroup in the U.S. and U.K., he joined Afrinvest in London in 2002, advising on transactions worth over $7.5 billion. [4] [7] [8] He served as Deputy Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking at Afrinvest West Africa Ltd from 2005 to 2009, then as Vice Chairman, CEO, and Managing Director from 2009 onward. [5] He serves as Group Managing Director of Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited, a position he has held since founding Afrinvest Nigeria in 2004 from his garage in Abuja. [5] [9] [8] By 2025, Afrinvest grew to nearly 200 staff across five offices. [9]
He is the immediate past President of the Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria [10] and Chairman of Royal Exchange General Insurance Company Limited. [11] He has also served as Chairman of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s FSS 2020 Capital Markets Committee and a member of the Debt Management Office’s Bond Market Steering Committee. [12] Chioke is the author of Akpokuedike: Duty Call in Anambra (Partridge Publishing Singapore, 2022), a biography of former Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano, detailing his governance and economic initiatives. [13] [14] [15]
In 2022, Chioke rebuilt the Central School Obioma in Udi, Enugu State, where he studied as a child. The N100 million project transformed the 1941 missionary-built school into a modern facility with eight classrooms, a library, an ICT centre with 30 computers, a clinic, and restrooms for 300 pupils. [3]
Through Afrinvest, Chioke has supported sports development in Enugu State as Rangers International FC's major shirt sponsor since October 2023. [16] Under the partnership, the club won the 2023/2024 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) title, their eighth overall. [17] In September 2025, Chioke announced the extension of the deal, committing to back the team in the 2025/2026 CAF Champions League and praising the club's "doggedness" as a foundation for elevating Nigerian football. [17] He credited the achievement to the team's management, coaches, players, and support from Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah. [17]
Chioke has held significant advisory roles in Enugu State, including chairing the 2023 Transition Committee under Governor-elect Peter Mbah and the Enugu State Security Trust Fund, launched to support a N20 billion security budget. [2] [1] He also chairs the Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA), serves on the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) board, and is a member of the Steering Committee of the Alaigbo Stabilization Fund. [18] [6] He was formerly Chairman of the Enugu State Technical Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation. [5]
He is a Board Member of Afrinvest West Africa Ltd, Afrinvest Asset Management Ltd, and the American University of Nigeria (since 2017). [5] He served as a Board Member of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority from 2021 to 2022. [5]
In 2025, as Chairman of the Things Fall Apart Festival, Chioke advocated for Igbo unity, drawing on Chinua Achebe’s novel to address Nigeria’s social and economic challenges. [19] He is a member of the American University of Nigeria’s Governing Council (since 2017) and served as its Commencement Speaker in 2017. [4]
Chioke, a prince of Udi kingdom, met his Dutch wife, Yvonne, in Kenya while working on a transaction for Salomon Smith Barney. [9] They have three children. [12]