Want to be a VC in Africa? Apply for the Dream VC Fellowship Program — Dream VC Co-Founders Mark Kleyner (Right) and Cindy Ai (Left) are active ecosystem builders, advisors and investors in African startups. Source: Dream VC.

Last year, Dream VC launched a fellowship program dedicated to providing more access and opportunities to traditionally underrepresented individuals in the African venture capital space.

They say that 90% of the fellows who graduated from the inaugural program went ahead to break into venture capital: with some joining new and established firms such as Ajim Capital, Akribos Capital, LoftyInc Wennovate, Oui Capital, and Lateral Capital – while others are busy writing checks as angels or setting up their own syndicates and funds in emerging ecosystems like Mozambique, Côte D’Ivoire, Rwanda, and others.

Well, for 2022, Dream VC says they will be running even bigger programs to engage, educate, and upskill untapped investor talent pool. They’re hoping to become the ‘Go-To-Launchpad for Aspiring Investors in Africa’. And for that they will be running two programs:

June to September: Launch into Venture Capital
June to October: Investor Accelerator

Applications for both programs go live on March 8th and will be processed on a rolling basis until the final deadline on May 1st 2022, at 11:59 pm GMT. The Launch into Venture Capital Fellowship specifically also has an Early Bird Deadline on April 1st, 2022, at 11:59 pm GMT in addition to the final deadline on May 1st.

First program details: Launch into Venture Capital

The first programme is a foundational crash course into VC for young working professionals with less than five years of full-time work experience. Fellows who participate in Dream VC’s Launch into VC will get access to live and recorded weekly training sessions and project assignments emulating real work done by VC analysts and associates.

Fellows will also partake in engaging workshops, interact with actual African-focused VC analysts and associates in relaxed networking mixers, and benefit from comprehensive career development modules specifically on how to break into the VC industry. Finally, Launch into VC fellows will get access to a dedicated mentorship network through a matching system that pairs inbound LIVC fellows with former Dream VC Graduates, allowing the new cohorts to foster ties, build connections and overcome existing challenges in the space.

Second program details: Investor Accelerator

The second programme aims to help launch or accelerate the seasoned careers of experienced operators, founders, working professionals and African enthusiasts interested in catapulting into the Venture Capital Investment World as investors, startup advisors or ecosystem builders.

Fellows who participate in the Investor Accelerator will be taught actively, with multiple live sessions every week, occurring on evenings and weekends to engage the fellows. As a much more extensive and intensive programme- this one promises over 800h of content, spread across strategic block-based learning and complemented by a range of panels with top industry leaders like GPs and Executives in many VC firms actively investing in or based out of African markets. Investor Accelerator Fellows will also get to hone their investing chops by reviewing active deals, drafting investment memos, and presenting them monthly at a mock Investment Committee meeting.

About Dream VC:

Founded in 2021 by a small team of Young Investors, Ecosystem Builders and Tech Founders alike, Dream VC has grown into a thriving community, spread across 12+ countries and growing with each cohort, striving to democratise access and understanding about the Venture Capital Space for professionals on the continent and among the diaspora. The institute is entirely remote and celebrates its return to the public arena by launching 2x new programs, aiming to train more than 50+ Future Investors for the continent.