Global Fellowship - Class '26 registrations open - it takes 21 seconds!
Global Fellowship - Class '26 registrations open - it takes 21 seconds!
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Our Fellowships open the industry to talented, diverse individuals across the globe.
The world's first fully funded Venture Capital Fellowship. Backed by leading funds, this is where talented people with no way into venture get one. Over six months you learn how investors think, work on real deals, and build a network that stays with you. 85% of our alumni now work in the VC industry.
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For professionals already inside Africa's investment ecosystem who are ready to step up. Built with the continent's leading funds, the Fellowship sharpens your deal judgement, connects you to the partners shaping African capital, and prepares you to lead a fund, not just work at one.
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A fully funded fellowship to grow and scale the careers of extraordinary Africans looking to build and lead the continent's investment industry. With six months of learning, real world simulations and mentorship.
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Join 55,000+ people changing the face of venture.

Fellows, alumni, applicants and the community around them. Seven years of opening the industry, for free.

7Years shaping the industry
40+Countries in every cohort
85%Of alumni now in investment

Included VC Global Venture Partners

What is the Included VC Fellowship?
A 6 month fully funded global VC Fellowship (think 'unique VC MBA').

We source and find THE BEST talent across the globe and help them break into venture capital.

Where aspiring venture capitalists from diverse, overlooked communities gain exclusive access, education and mentorship from the best VCs across the globe - trust us you can't find these learnings anywhere else!

We're on a mission to radically diversify the Venture Capital ecosystem and work towards ensuring that VC is representational of society today in all forms.

We believe varying thought, opinion and background is the core foundation of a strong society. Our goal, through the Fellowship is to increase the number of under-represented communities within the VC industry and create effective multi-generational change.

Who this is for

The same people the Fellowship has always been for.

The growth seekers

The intellectually curious. The ones trying to understand the VC industry, how capital moves and who decides where it goes. You want business insight, you pay attention to startup culture, and you want to know how a company goes from an idea to something worth backing.

The momentum builders and founders

You already have it. You have built something, led something, or become genuinely excellent at something, and you keep pushing anyway. You are already collecting the kind of skills that compound.

The next shapers

The people who, a few years from now, will be shaping this industry rather than watching it.

What's in it for you

Working knowledge, real relationships and a portfolio that speaks for you.

01

Industry insights

How capital moves and who gets it. Sourcing, diligence, valuation, term sheets, portfolio construction. Working knowledge, not theory.

02

Investors network

Direct access to the investors shaping the industry. Many will be your mentors and instructors. Not a cold email. A relationship.

03

Solid portfolio

Real deals, real calls, made and defended in investment committee simulations. You finish with work to show.

04

Peer network

Alumni across 40+ countries, over 85% now working in venture. You hear about roles before they're posted.

The programme structure

Learning

Masterclasses with investors from some of the best funds globally, plus the foundations of how venture works: sourcing, diligence, valuation, term sheets, portfolio construction.

Real world simulations

Investment committee simulations where you make real calls on real deals and defend them. You finish with work you made, not work you watched.

Guidance

A mentor working in the industry, office hours with practising investors, and career coaching built around landing you a role.

Community

Peer learning across a cohort spanning 40+ countries, and a network that stays with you long after the six months. The part Fellows say mattered most.

A sneak peek

👇🏼 TLDR:

The main things you need to know.

Funding

Fully funded

Made possible by our sponsors, who want to change the face of VC. Please note there is an application fee.

Time

Part-time

You can work and be a Fellow. Expect to invest 15+ hours a week on applications, financial modelling courses, personal branding and more. Masterclasses and workshops usually run one to two evenings a week, 17:00 to 20:00 UK time.

Who

Aspiring VC

You must be serious about breaking into Venture Capital. We want to hear about your experiences of trying to get in.

Format

What you'll do

Masterclasses, in-depth deep dives, foundational learning, investment committee simulations, mentoring with world-class investors, office hours, peer-to-peer learning, brand building, career coaching, AMAs and more.

Where

Global and virtual

Join from anywhere. Some optional in-person Summits along the way.

Values

What we stand for

  • Kindness
  • Paying it forward
  • Don't compete
  • Sparkle (quite literally)
The foundational pillars of Included VC.
Apply

Yes, you should

If any of these apply to you ("I'm a mum", "I'm a student", "I'm not in tech", "I'm not in investment banking"), we encourage you to apply.

Dates

Application cycle

Application cycle
Registrations open

🤝 Meet Included VC Instructors

Our Instructors are hands on and dedicate heaps of time towards the success of Included VC Fellows.

Reshma Sohoni
Simon Schmincke
Oscar Farres
Itxaso del Palacio
Andy Leaver
Brad Doline
Carlos Eduardo Espinal
Maria Dramalioti-Taylor
Roadmap

Curriculum

Twelve modules from your first day to your first role.

1

Fund Structure & Mechanics

How a fund is built, who it answers to and how the money moves.

2

Financial Modelling

The numbers behind a deal, built by hand until they make sense.

3

Dealflow Sourcing

Where great companies come from and how to find them first.

4

Legals & beyond

Term sheets, SHAs and the fine print that decides outcomes.

5

Cap Tables & Term Sheets

Ownership, dilution and how a round actually gets done.

6

History of VC

Where the industry came from and why it works the way it does.

7

Unit Economics

Does the business make money per customer? Learn to tell fast.

8

Exits & Acquisitions

How returns are realised, from IPO to acquisition.

9

Investment Theses

Build a point of view the industry can argue with.

10

Models & Trends

Business models, market shifts and what's next.

11

Due Diligence

How to pressure-test a company before you back it.

12

Careers in VC

Landing the role: applications, interviews, brand and network.

🎓 Your seat at the table
Hear from our community | Included VC
Alumni

Hear from our community

With almost 85% of our alumni building and scaling major global projects, their insights are yours to learn from.

Where our alumni have gone

The organisations our Fellows joined during or straight after Included VC.

🤝 Meet Included VC Fellows

Follow in the footsteps of our inspiring Alumni!

Florence Bavanandan
Alina Bassi
Audrey Adeline
João Nunes
Carmen Pumariño
Laurent-Frederic Lohmann

Impact stories

#BeIncluded
Join Included
Included VC: LIVE
When the Fellows, Alumni and Venture Partners come together in person for learning, deal-making, life-long bonds and memories.

🚀 Included VC Community Partners

We work with revolutionary grassroots communities across the world to build the future of VC together.

Support

Top questions about Included VC

Need something cleared up? Here are the questions we get asked most, grouped by topic.

The Fellowship

What Included VC is, what it covers and what makes it different.

What is the Included VC Global Fellowship?

Think of it as a fast-track MBA for venture capital, built for extraordinary people from overlooked and diverse communities. Included VC is the first global, fully funded Fellowship of its kind, and it exists because the industry should look like the society it invests in.

Our mission is to change the face of VC: dramatically increasing representation and maximising fund success by transforming networks, teams, deal flow and investments, creating multi-generational change.

Over 85% of Fellows who were actively looking for a role have broken into venture, from Asia to Europe to North America.

What is covered in the Fellowship?
  • Masterclasses with leading investors
  • Dealflow practicals and investment memo writing
  • Investment committee simulations
  • Mentorship from VCs and from Included VC alumni now in VC
  • Career clinics on breaking into VC
  • Brand building in VC workshops
  • Office hours with the Included VC team on applications and interviews
  • The chance to be invited to Included VC: LIVE, our largest in-person gathering
  • The chance to join the alumni community, the Included VC Avengers, after the Fellowship
How is Included VC different from other programmes?

We inject a bit of magic into everything we do. If you don't believe us, join an Open Access Hour and see for yourself.

Magic aside, Fellows get an unrivalled global network of VCs from 40+ nationalities, and graduates go on to co-invest with their peers once they join funds. Our focus is long term: changing the demographics of investment teams so that capital reaches diverse founders. The core of that is helping you land an investment role.

What is Included VC's definition of representation?

Fellows come from anywhere: any gender, ethnicity, geography, upbringing, age, neurodiversity, disability or belief system. What they share is a passion for entrepreneurship, technology and creating significant impact through venture investing.

What is the geographic focus?

Global. You can apply from anywhere in the world.

If you are based in Africa, we now run a dedicated Included VC Africa Fellowship, tailored to your region, community and ecosystem.

Who it's for

Eligibility, and whether this is the right route for you.

Who should apply?

You should apply if you want a career in VC in the near future, have tried to break in and not yet managed it, come from a non-traditional background, and identify with our definition of representation. Having tried matters to us; it shows this is something you want.

Please note you will need to commit 15 to 20 hours a week, including writing long-form Deep Dives.

I am already in VC. Can I apply?

If you are currently on a fund's investment team, or have held a paid VC role before, the Global Fellowship is not designed for you. It exists for people from diverse and overlooked communities who are still trying to break in.

Partner Funds do get exclusive access to Included VC reading material and events for their teams, so speak to the Partners at your fund about partnering with us. Partnership enquiries: nikita@included.vc.

I want to raise a fund. Is this for me?

Our focus is people who want to join a fund at entry level, not at Partner. There are excellent programmes out there for Emerging Managers.

Can I do it alongside a job?

Yes. The Fellowship is part-time. Masterclasses and workshops usually run one to two evenings a week, 17:00 to 20:00 UK time, and you should plan for 15+ hours a week in total.

Applying

How the process works, from first form to final conversation.

What are the application stages?
  • Stage 1: Blind written application. We only see individual answers, never your whole application.
  • Stage 2: Video submissions
  • Stage 3: Interview with alumni
  • Stage 4: Final conversation with the Included VC team

More detail is shared as you progress.

Is there an application fee?

Yes, a small fee applies when you apply. The Fellowship itself is fully funded. If the fee is a barrier, a waiver is available through a short application.

If I am accepted, can I defer my place?

Unfortunately not. We are not able to let Cohort Members defer.

Am I automatically a Fellow once I join?

You start as a Cohort Member. You graduate as an Included VC Fellow once you have met the criteria set out at the beginning of the Fellowship.

Funding and partners

Who makes it free, and how to get involved as a fund.

How is the Fellowship fully funded?

Through the generosity of sponsors who want to change the face of VC: BITKRAFT, Creandum, Daphni, European Investment Fund, HSBC Ventures, HV Capital, Mouro Capital, Mangrove Capital, Notion Capital, Seedcamp and Wilson Sonsini.

We are a fund that wants to sponsor Included VC.

Wonderful. Please get in touch with Nikita Thakrar at nikita@included.vc.

Outcomes and community

What Fellows get, where they go, and what happens after.

How many Fellows actually break into VC?

The numbers speak for themselves. Of Fellows actively applying to break into VC:

  • 2020: 83% did so. One Fellow went on to raise $10m+, two became co-founders and raised $750K, another raised $50m, and many became angel investors.
  • 2021: 85%
  • 2022: 83%
What do Fellows gain?
  • Access to a strong global dealflow network, every continent except Antarctica
  • Knowledge
  • Lifetime bonds
  • A network of VCs around the world, from Partner to analyst
  • The opportunity to join the exclusive alumni network, the VC Avengers
Included VC: LIVE. Can you tell me more?

If you are part of the Fellowship you may be invited to Included VC: LIVE, a global gathering of alumni, Fellows and Venture Partners. Please note you cover your own costs for LIVE.

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Still have questions?

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