I got into VC before the Included VC formal curriculum started, but for me, a lot of the sessions helped me hit the ground running. I’m not sure how effective I would’ve been without this knowledge because I didn’t know the do’s and don’ts of certain aspects of venture capital. For example, I learnt about more effective ways to source deals, how investment committees are run as well as fast-tracked perspective into analysing different business models.

Another big part in which Included VC has contributed to my development, is my growth in confidence. Most times, representation helps people feel like they belong. There aren’t a number of women, let alone black women in VC. We are heavily underrepresented. A lack of representation can cause feelings of imposter syndrome. The Included VC community, especially Nikita, helped me really think about how to become better at leveraging my community, so that I don’t always feel the weight of any situation. There’s power and understanding that many other people may be able to help solve things that you’re struggling with. This has become a new hack in building up confidence.

The final aspect was being a part of a globalized community. Most of my connections were from Africa, but now I can proudly say I have incredible people I can connect to from Europe, Americas and Asia. That’s a powerful thing to be a part of. This alone has contributed to so much growth, and is something I am excited to see that Included VC will be continuing.