Included VC is a fellowship program that provides access, opportunity, and knowledge into the world of Venture Capital for individuals from diverse communities that are often overlooked or excluded. It has, in a collaborative partnership with 11 funds from around the world, kicked off its Fellowship II.
Second annual fellowship programme!
HSBC has joined ten global funds including Microsoft’s M12, Seedcamp, and Santander’s Mouro Capital to launch Included VC’s Fellowship II.
Included VC claims its ongoing mission is to dramatically increase diversity in venture capital, maximising fund success by transforming networks, staff, dealflow, and investments.
Its new cohort of 48 fellows come from 21 countries around the world and are in the 19 to 45 age bracket. They hail from various diverse backgrounds such as 52 per cent are female, 31 per cent Black, 31 per cent Asian, 30 per cent are neurodiverse, 15 per cent are disabled, and 17 per cent are from the LGBTQIA+ community.
Filling the gap!
“The venture capital industry backs outliers and technology entrepreneurs who can change the world. However, traditional methods of pattern recognition and “warm introductions” limit diversity and reduce exposure to many of the most talented entrepreneurs,” the VC mentions in its website.
While teams with different skills and backgrounds are proven to outperform on almost every metric, diversity still falls far behind in both venture capital staff and investment diversity.
Included VC was created to address this gap.
How does Included VC work?
Included VC is a fully-funded 12-month fellowship programme, founded by Nikita Thakrar, Stephen Millard, and Chris Tottman. It provides access, opportunity, and knowledge into the world of Venture Capital for individuals from diverse communities which are often overlooked or excluded.
The selected Fellows will receive training and exposure to the world of VC, with one-on-one mentoring, expert masterclasses, case study learning, and dealflow deep dives, along with 2 European Summits.
The VC claims that the fellowship is free of cost and includes all materials, executive coaching and all summit related expenses, including flights and accommodation.
Shedding more light on changing the systemic lack of diversity, from an operational perspective, Nikita Thakrar, explains, “Included VC is committed to creating effective multi-generational and systemic change to reduce barriers for traditionally overlooked and excluded groups. One of the most critical elements of the fellowship is that it isn’t run by one firm, but is the result of numerous VCs in the industry coming together. The partnership of VCs behind Included VC can create a genuine impact. They don’t just provide financial assistance to the fellowship, but also give their time to mentor and network with the fellows, teaching them key skills, and helping them build a community that enables them to truly succeed in VC.”
Included VC is supported by an international consortium of Venture Capital Partners and Sponsors including Creandum, Daphni, HSBC Ventures, Enern, K Fund, Mangrove Capital, M12 – Microsoft’s Venture Fund, Notion Capital, Seedcamp, Santander Innoventures, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
Included VC’s inaugural Fellowship in 2020 was made up of 30 individuals (selected from 1400 applicants) from diverse backgrounds in Europe. It came to a conclusion in December of last year, with a third of Fellows already moving on to work in the VC industry, as founders, or in startups, including Ana Wolsztajn who is now an Associate & Head of Platform at Enern.
What must you do to become one of its “Fellows”
According to Included VC, its criteria for its Fellowship is that it looks for individuals who are entrepreneurial, passionate about technology, and fascinated by the potential for venture capital to drive change on a massive scale. “Included VC’s fellows demonstrate the broadest definition of diversity; gender, ethnicity, non-typical degrees, intergenerational diversity, disability, neural diversity, and applicants from excluded communities such as refugees and ex-inmates.”
