Venture Capital Upskilling Institute, Dream VC has recently launched a fellowship program focused on providing more access and opportunities to traditionally discounted in the Venture Capital space of Africa.
The aim of the program is to teach its participants the basics of funding from drafting investment memos, conducting due diligence to understanding the legalities and strategies of setting up VC Funds or Angel Groups.
The program also aims to create a talent pipeline of promising young African investors that are intimately familiar with the pain points of their local communities as they can drive a change in the venture capital industry through an Afri-centric lens.
The Dream VC program which places particular emphasis on young homegrown Africans and the diaspora is a four-month-long summer class that begins June and ends September 2021.
The program is one of the most comprehensive VC fellowship programs in the world.
Speaking on the recent launch, Cindy Ai, Co-founder of Dream VC, “Everyone is talking about investing in the next generation of African startups, but not enough people are talking about empowering the next generation of young African investors.
The median age of the African population is in its teens and there’s a massive youth unemployment issue. People are saying entrepreneurship can help solve that.
But beyond that, what if we invest in the young people from the community who will later be writing those checks to entrepreneurial peers?”
Also speaking on the launch of the program, Mark Kleyner, the other co-founder of Dream VC, “Incredible programs such as Included VC have highlighted the importance of providing access opportunities to traditionally marginalized populations to get their foot into venture capital.
They are completely changing the game, and the venture capital context right now on the continent still lacks a strong base of young investors who want to become future ecosystem builders in their communities.
The gap exists because there are not enough opportunities for these young people to build the knowledge, skills base, or get access to these elusive VC funds.”
Dream VC is on a very similar mission to Included VC, but with a focus on the Emerging Markets, where they hope to bring together top African VCs across the continent to provide more opportunities to young Africans.
What the program offers
- Weekly training sessions
- Project assignments emulating real work done by VC analysts and associates
- Engaging workshops and community-led upskilling mixers
- Exclusive panel discussions with top African VCs and serial entrepreneurs
Benefits of participation
- Due source and conduct due diligence on startups
- Drafting an investment memo and valuate startup
- Navigating cap tables, financial statements and funding terms
- Understanding term sheets, SPVs and syndication in VC
- Portfolio management fund, fund structures and how to launch a VC fund
What Dream VC is solving
Africa continues to attract more and more interest from international investors owing to its economic growth. Nevertheless, the gap between ‘homegrown financing solutions’ as well funding towards ‘homegrown startups’ is huge.
A significant number of these investors are non-Africans, with European and North American investors leading the list.
However, there appears to be an exception to this in the case of Future Africa created by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Co-founder of Andela and former Managing Director of Flutterwave.
While the international interest is now putting African startups in the spotlight, there are still very few support systems for aspiring local investors and opportunities for young people to break into VC on the continent. Dream VC exists to change this and democratize access to this industry through the Dream VC Fellowship program, which is entirely free and fully remote.
“We want to bring on young and diverse fellows across the continent and beyond who are visionary, highly empathetic, and extremely driven about birthing innovation in all tech sectors in Africa. The future of Africa will be shaped by this next generation and Dream VC was created to become the launchpad for them,” Cindy added.
How to apply
Are you a potential African investor? Apply here to Dream VC exclusive free 300 hour plus comprehensive venture capital training program today
About Dream VC
Founded in 2021, by a small team of Young Investors and Former Tech Founders including the founders behind MZZ Africa, Dream VC is an entirely remote-first educational institute, which is striving to democratize access and understanding about the Venture Capital space for professionals on the continent and among the diaspora.
The institute celebrates its launch with a comprehensive inaugural 18-week summer program, which will train 20 future investors for the continent, and aims to increase that number as it scales its offering and launches new training programs.
Featured Image: Mark Kleyner (Left), Cindy Ai (Right), Co-founders of Dream VC
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