Nasir Qadree

Founder & Managing Partner at zeal-capital-partners

Reviewed Updated Apr 6, 2026

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Location Washington, DC
Check Size $250K-$2.3M
Last Verified Investment SpendRule (Seed) — ~2026
Social @NasirQadree LinkedIn
Stage Focus
pre-seed seed series-a
Sector Focus
fintech financial-inclusion future-of-work edtech health-equity workforce-development dei-tech

Background

Nasir Qadree is the Founder and Managing Partner of Zeal Capital Partners, a mission-driven venture capital firm based in Washington, D.C. that he launched in February 2020 1 2. Originally from Atlanta, Qadree graduated magna cum laude from Hampton University with a B.A. in Marketing in 2008 3 4.

Qadree began his career as an analyst at Goldman Sachs in public markets, then moved to State Street Corporation in Boston 3 5. During his time in financial services, he co-founded The Bees Knees Baking Company, a coffee shop in New York City, with two friends; he sold his stake in the business in 2015 5.

After selling his coffee shop stake, Qadree moved to Washington, D.C. and joined Village Capital, where he led the U.S. Economic Opportunity Portfolio and served as Global Head of Education Investments, evaluating early-stage businesses in education, health, and financial services 3 6. He subsequently served as Associate Director of AT&T’s $400 million Aspire Social Investment Fund, where he oversaw direct investments in education and employment technology companies, led AT&T’s investment readiness program, and spearheaded partnerships with national accelerators 3 6.

Qadree is a Kauffman Fellow (Class 26) 3 and was named a “40 under 40” recipient by the Washington Business Journal in 2018 4. He co-chaired Senator Cory Booker’s Education Innovation Committee during Booker’s 2013 special Senate run 4 7. He is also pursuing a personal goal of completing marathons in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. to raise $1 million in scholarships for first-generation college students, with 18 completed as of his last public update 4.

Under Qadree’s leadership, Zeal Capital Partners has grown to manage $186 million in assets under management across three fund vehicles 8 9. Zeal Fund I closed at $62.1 million in July 2021, oversubscribing its original $50 million target — one of the largest debut funds for a solo general partner 1 10. Zeal Fund II closed at $82 million in May 2025 8. Zeal also manages the Barclays Black Formation Investment (BBFI) vehicle, a $50 million pre-seed investment platform backed by Barclays 11.

Stated Thesis

Zeal Capital Partners publicly describes its strategy as “Inclusive Investing” — a proprietary framework that Qadree characterizes as “a five-prong, market-backed approach that allows us to widen our lens yet keep alpha and impact” 12. The five prongs encompass: building teams with differentiated founder access outside traditional VC networks, prioritizing geographic markets with lower institutional capital saturation, focusing on underserved company categories, backing diverse management teams, and maintaining both financial returns and impact objectives 12 13.

Qadree has stated: “My goal is to build a best-in-class investment firm focused on bridging our country’s wealth and skills gaps, which we believe turbocharge economic mobility” 14. He targets three interconnected systems: financial technology and inclusion, the future of learning and work, and health equity 13 15.

The firm publicly emphasizes that inclusive investing is not charity but a market strategy. Qadree has stated: “Inclusive investing is our strategy…we need more businesses delivering solutions to bridge the wealth and skills gap at scale” 2. He targets 3-4x net gross returns with outperformance expectations 13.

On transparency, Qadree has noted: “Too often in the private markets — private equity, venture capital, particularly early-stage investing — entrepreneurs are forced to be incredibly transparent. Way more than the investor” and advocates that founders should “conduct diligence on us just as much as we conduct diligence on you, because the truth is, this is a long-term relationship” 14.

Inferred Thesis

Based on 16 verified investments with identified sectors, Qadree’s actual investment behavior shows the following patterns. Note: Zeal Capital Partners reports 50+ portfolio companies total 9; this table represents approximately 30% of the full portfolio.

Sector distribution (based on 16 verified investments): - Fintech/Financial Inclusion: 6 of 16 (38%) — Esusu, Pay Theory, Stratyfy, Wellthi, EQL Finance, Debbie - Future of Work/Learning: 5 of 16 (31%) — AdeptID, Certiverse, YearOne, Daivergent, Kanarys - Healthcare/Health Equity: 3 of 16 (19%) — Seven Starling, ViuHealth, SpendRule - Other/Cross-sector: 2 of 16 (13%) — Humanly, Rising Team

Stage distribution: Predominantly seed-stage. Of 16 verified investments, at least 12 were at the seed stage, with the remainder being pre-seed or follow-on investments at Series A and Series B. Zeal Fund I targeted 25-30 investments with pre-seed checks of $250K-$500K and seed-to-Series A checks of $500K-$1.2M 16. Fund II targets initial check sizes of $1M-$2.3M with 50% reserved for follow-on investments 8.

Geographic concentration: Washington, D.C. is the firm’s home base, and the portfolio reflects a deliberate focus on secondary markets and “fly-over cities” rather than exclusively Silicon Valley or New York 2. Portfolio companies are distributed across Cincinnati (Pay Theory), Dallas (Kanarys), and other non-traditional tech hubs, consistent with Qadree’s stated belief that “the best and most investable entrepreneurs exist everywhere” 14.

Founder profile patterns: Zeal explicitly prioritizes diverse management teams. All portfolio companies must sign diversity pledges and maintain diverse management teams 16. The portfolio includes multiple Black-founded and female-founded companies (Esusu, Kanarys, Stratyfy, Daivergent). Qadree also targets founders bringing lived experience to problems of economic mobility and financial inclusion.

Co-investor patterns: Among verified investments, frequent co-investors include Better Ventures (AdeptID), Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund (Kanarys), Gaingels (Pay Theory, AdeptID), and SixThirty (Pay Theory). The pattern suggests co-investment with other impact-oriented and diversity-focused funds.

Notable gap between stated and actual thesis: While Qadree frames the thesis around three equal pillars (fintech, future of work, health equity), the verified portfolio skews more heavily toward fintech and workforce development (combined 69%) than health equity (19%). The health equity pillar appears to be growing more recently through Fund II investments such as Seven Starling and SpendRule.

Exit highlight: Esusu, Zeal’s first investment in August 2020, reached unicorn status in January 2022 after raising $130 million in a SoftBank-led Series B at a $1 billion valuation 5 17.

Portfolio

Company Year Stage Sector Source
Esusu 2020 Seed Fintech/Credit Building 2 17
Kanarys 2021 Seed (Led) DEI Technology 18
YearOne 2021 Seed Future of Work 17
AdeptID 2021 Seed (Led) Workforce Development 19
Stratyfy 2021 Seed (Led) Fintech/Credit Risk 20
Humanly 2021 Seed HR Technology 17
Pay Theory 2022 Seed (Led) Fintech/Payments 21
Daivergent 2022 Seed (Led) Workforce Development 17 22
EQL Finance 2022 Seed Fintech 17
Certiverse 2021 Seed EdTech/Certification 17 23
Seven Starling ~2024 Seed Maternal Mental Health 8 24
Debbie ~2024 Seed Fintech/Savings 8
Wellthi ~2021 Seed Fintech 9
ViuHealth ~2021 Seed Health Equity 5
SpendRule 2026 Seed HealthTech 9
Rising Team ~2024 Seed Business Software 8
Certiverse 2025 Series A EdTech/Certification 23
Humanly 2025 Series B HR Technology 9

This table represents approximately 16 unique companies (~30% of 50+ claimed portfolio companies). Only N of claimed 50+ investments could be independently verified with dates and stages from public sources.

In Their Own Words

“It’s incredibly important to recognize the genius in Black people. Genius is everywhere, and there is a missing opportunity when we don’t proactively invest in innovation that’s led by Black people.” — Nasir Qadree, Technical.ly interview, 2020 14

“Inclusive investing is our strategy…we need more businesses delivering solutions to bridge the wealth and skills gap at scale.” — Nasir Qadree, Crunchbase News, November 2020 2

“The best and most investable entrepreneurs exist everywhere. Not just coming from very few places…this is a huge missing opportunity when you are not proactively leaning into ecosystems that were oftentimes left out.” — Nasir Qadree, SRI360 podcast 13

“Intentionality is the through line of the inclusive investing framework.” — Nasir Qadree, SRI360 podcast 13

“At Zeal Capital Partners, we’re committed to a model that believes financial inclusion and wellness, health equity, and the future of learning and work are critical to the innovation economy.” — Nasir Qadree, SRI360 podcast 13

“We want you to conduct diligence on us just as much as we conduct diligence on you, because the truth is, this is a long-term relationship.” — Nasir Qadree, Technical.ly interview, 2020 14

“Pay Theory offers a new opportunity for fintech to leverage its power to narrow the financial divide for families and communities that have been historically ignored and underserved in the financial services industry.” — Nasir Qadree, Pay Theory press release, February 2022 21

“We are excited to join AdeptID because of their differentiated technical expertise and early partnerships, but also because of their collaborative business model. Their API-first approach makes their matching capabilities available to any future-of-work offering, and reflects the inclusiveness of both of our missions.” — Nasir Qadree, AdeptID seed announcement, December 2021 19

“Focus on building a solid skill set, growing your social capital, being thoughtful about meaningful networking, and saving your money — build some personal capital too.” — Nasir Qadree, SRI360 podcast 13

What Founders Say

No independently sourced founder testimonials were found that describe working with Nasir Qadree or Zeal Capital Partners from the founder’s perspective. The following investor-side quotes provide some context on Qadree’s founder engagement:

Regarding Kanarys co-founder Mandy Price, Qadree stated: “Once we met Mandy, we saw her as an early-stage founder with market fit, and it was a no-brainer after the first meeting” 18 25. However, this is an investor quote, not a founder testimonial.

Brad Hoeweler, CEO of Pay Theory, stated in the context of the Zeal-led seed round: “This is a major step forward for Pay Theory. It represents validation for our approach to inclusive finance in the business verticals where it counts most for families” 21. While this acknowledges the round Zeal led, it is not specifically about the investor relationship.

Connections

  • Board of Directors, DonorsChoose — appointed October 2024, alongside Shan-Lyn Ma (Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Zola) and Pedro Noguera (Dean of USC Rossier School of Education) 26
  • Board of Directors, LearnFresh Education — the NBA’s official education nonprofit 4
  • Board member, AdeptID — portfolio company 17
  • Board member, Kanarys — portfolio company 17
  • Co-Chair, BLCK VC DMV Chapter — venture capital community for Black investors 5 7
  • Co-Chairman, Senator Cory Booker’s Education Innovation Committee (2013) 4 7
  • Member, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Innovation Technology Inclusion Council (ITIC) 7
  • NLC Advisory Council member and NLC Boston ‘12 alumnus — New Leaders Council 4
  • Kauffman Fellow, Class 26 — global network of venture capitalists 3
  • Milken Institute Global Conference speaker (2024) 7
  • Financial Health Network advisory board 6
  • Frequent co-investor with: Better Ventures, Revolution Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Gaingels, SixThirty 18 19 21

Sources

  1. Zeal Capital Partners, “Zeal Capital Partners Close $62.1 Million Oversubscribed Fund to Advance Economic Mobility,” BusinessWire, July 12, 2021. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210712005187/en/Zeal-Capital-Partners-Close-$62.1-Million-Oversubscribed-Fund-to-Advance-Economic-Mobility↩↩

  2. Crunchbase News, “PayPal-backed Zeal Capital Partners Starts First Fund,” November 2, 2020. https://news.crunchbase.com/startups/paypal-backed-zeal-capital-partners-starts-first-fund/↩↩↩↩↩

  3. Kauffman Fellows, “Nasir Qadree,” accessed April 2026. https://www.kauffmanfellows.org/fellows/nasir-qadree↩↩↩↩↩↩

  4. New Leaders Council, “Nasir Qadree,” accessed April 2026. https://www.newleaderscouncil.org/team-member/nasir-qadree/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  5. BLCK VC, “Community Spotlight: Nasir Qadree of Zeal Capital Partners,” Medium, accessed April 2026. https://blck-vc.medium.com/community-spotlight-nasir-qadree-of-zeal-capital-partners-fe388ff4b86e↩↩↩↩↩

  6. Financial Health Network, “Nasir Qadree,” accessed April 2026. https://finhealthnetwork.org/team/nasir-qadree/↩↩↩

  7. Milken Institute, “Nasir Qadree,” Global Conference 2024 speaker profile, accessed April 2026. https://milkeninstitute.org/events/global-conference-2024/speakers/nasir-qadree↩↩↩↩↩

  8. Zeal Capital Partners, “Zeal Capital Partners Closes $82 Million Zeal Fund II, More Than Tripling Assets Under Management in Five Years,” BusinessWire, May 28, 2025. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250528777357/en/Zeal-Capital-Partners-Closes-$82-Million-Zeal-Fund-II-More-Than-Tripling-Assets-Under-Management-in-Five-Years↩↩↩↩↩↩

  9. Tracxn, “Zeal Capital Partners — 2026 Investor Profile, Portfolio, Team & Investment Trends,” accessed April 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/venture-capital/zealcapitalpartners/__qOdrjgT-tdH65UZqM8hEvk0iahFZB1jN_ELa7U5MlLs↩↩↩↩↩

  10. TechCrunch, “Nasir Qadree just announced one of the largest debut funds for a solo VC,” Connie Loizos, July 12, 2021. https://techcrunch.com/2021/07/12/nasir-qadree-grew-up-in-the-projects-now-hes-announcing-one-the-largest-debut-funds-for-a-solo-vc/↩

  11. BusinessWire, “Zeal Capital Partners Appoints Stefanie Thomas as Managing Director, Overseeing the Firm’s Strategic Growth in Pre-Seed Investments,” November 7, 2023. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231107274268/en/Zeal-Capital-Partners-Appoints-Stefanie-Thomas-as-Managing-Director-Overseeing-the-Firm%E2%80%99s-Strategic-Growth-in-Pre-Seed-Investments↩

  12. ShoppeBlack, “Zeal Capital Partners: Investing Across the Systems That Shape Wealth,” accessed April 2026. https://shoppeblack.us/zeal-capital-partners-inclusive-investing-strategy/↩↩

  13. SRI360, “Zeal Breaks the Mold: How Backing Overlooked Founders Delivers 3–4X on Invested Capital | Nasir Qadree (#082),” accessed April 2026. https://sri360.com/podcast/nasir-qadree/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  14. Technical.ly, “Nasir Qadree wants to see these behaviors change in VC,” accessed April 2026. https://technical.ly/startups/nasir-qadree-inslusivity-vc-zeal/↩↩↩↩↩

  15. AfroTech, “Zeal Capital Partners Founder Nasir Qadree Breaks Down The Ins And Outs Of Venture Capital,” January 2022. https://afrotech.com/nasir-qadree-btgm-venture-capital↩

  16. Nasir Qadree, “Zeal Fund I Is Closed. Here’s How We Are Executing Our Vision,” Medium, July 2021. https://medium.com/@nasir_38657/zeal-fund-i-is-closed-heres-how-we-are-executing-our-vision-946858a1770b↩↩

  17. Signal by NFX, “Nasir Qadree’s Investing Profile,” accessed April 2026. https://signal.nfx.com/investors/nasir-qadree↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  18. PRNewswire, “Black and Female-Founded Tech Company, Kanarys, Announces Historic $3 Million Seed Round Led By Zeal Capital Partners,” January 6, 2021. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/black-and-female-founded-tech-company-kanarys-announces-historic-3-million-seed-round-led-by-zeal-capital-partners-301202066.html↩↩↩

  19. AdeptID, “Announcing our $3.5m Seed Funding,” December 2, 2021. https://www.adept-id.com/news/announcing-our-seed-funding122021/↩↩↩

  20. PRWeb, “Stratyfy Closes Funding Round, Accelerating Mission to Bring Greater Visibility to Complex Financial Decisions and Reduce Bias,” October 5, 2021. https://www.prweb.com/releases/stratyfy-closes-funding-round-accelerating-mission-to-bring-greater-visibility-to-complex-financial-decisions-and-reduce-bias-880385588.html↩

  21. Pay Theory, “Cincinnati Fintech Pay Theory Receives $2M in Seed Round Investment Led by Zeal Capital Partners,” February 4, 2022. https://www.paytheory.com/press-releases/february-4-2022↩↩↩↩

  22. Nasir Qadree, LinkedIn post on Daivergent $3.3M seed round, August 2, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nasir-qadree_zeal-leads-daivergents-33m-seed-round-activity-6960241916022038528-Z4cp↩

  23. Yahoo Finance, “Certiverse Secures Series A Funding to Expand Access to Certification Programs,” March 25, 2025. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/certiverse-secures-series-funding-expand-094500785.html↩↩

  24. HLTH, “Seven Starling Secures $8M to Scale Maternal Mental Health Platform,” September 19, 2025. https://hlth.com/insights/news/seven-starling-secures-8m-to-scale-maternal-mental-health-platform-2025-09-19↩

  25. Crunchbase News, “Kanarys Boosts Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Platform Following $3M Seed,” January 2021. https://news.crunchbase.com/startups/kanarys-boosts-diversity-equity-inclusion-platform-following-3m-seed/↩

  26. DonorsChoose, “DonorsChoose Appoints Shan-Lyn Ma, Pedro Noguera, & Nasir Qadree to Board of Directors,” November 8, 2024. https://blog.donorschoose.org/articles/board-of-directors-announcement↩