Dream VC - Afrikan Heroes

Record-Breaking Demand: Dream VC Ignites Over 4000 Interests in African Investment Landscape

May 27, 2023

Dream VC, the pioneering program aimed at empowering African investment talent, has set a new record with an overwhelming response from aspiring entrepreneurs across the continent. With a staggering 4000+ applications received in three cohort cycles, Dream VC is revolutionizing the African venture ecosystem and generating excitement among investors and innovators alike.

The program, launched in 2021, has witnessed remarkable growth and increasing interest year after year. In its inaugural year, Dream VC attracted over a thousand applications (1002 to be precise), signaling a promising start for the initiative. The following year, the program’s allure expanded even further, with 1375 applicants vying for a coveted spot in the 2022 cohort across both programs.

However, it was the 2023 application cycle that witnessed an explosive surge of interest, as Dream VC’s reputation spread far and wide. A remarkable 2009 applicants competed for entry into both programs, demonstrating the program’s expanding reach and the rising interest among African entrepreneurs in the venture capital landscape.

One of the intriguing aspects revealed by the data is the gender dynamics within the applicant pool. In the inaugural cohort, male applicants dominated the field, accounting for 67% of the total, while female applicants represented the remaining 33%. However, the following year saw a slight decline in female representation, with only 31% of applicants identifying as female.

In a surprising turn, the 2023 application cycle showcased a resurgence of female applicants, returning to the gender ratio observed in the program’s early stages. Once again, 67% of applicants identified as male, while 33% identified as female, emphasizing Dream VC’s commitment to fostering diversity and inclusivity in the program and addressing the gender imbalance prevalent in the investment landscape.

Delving deeper into the data, the breakdown of applicants between the two programs offered by Dream VC reveals intriguing trends. In 2022, the Launch into VC program garnered the majority of applications, with approximately 81% of applicants expressing their interest in this transformative program. The remaining 19% sought entry into the Investor Accelerator program, demonstrating the high demand for gaining crucial skills and insights into the world of venture capital.

Analyzing the gender composition within each program, the Launch into VC program saw a positive shift in female representation. From 29% in 2022, the percentage of female applicants increased to 33% in 2023. However, in the Investor Accelerator program, the percentage of female applicants experienced a slight decline, dropping from 37% to 34% during the same period. These figures underscore the ongoing need for concerted efforts to encourage and support more women in pursuing investment careers and closing the gender gap in the industry.

Dream VC’s transformative impact on the African venture ecosystem is evident through its growing influence and the overwhelming response it continues to receive. As the program paves the way for the next generation of African investors, it remains committed to empowering diverse talent and fostering an inclusive environment that reflects the continent’s vibrant entrepreneurial spirit.

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Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard

Dream VC Announces Launch of 2023 Investor Training Programs

March 12, 2023

Dream VC, an investor accelerator focused on Africa and community-driven educational platform offering rigorous remote programmes focused specifically on venture capital across Africa’s startup ecosystems, is announcing the opening of another round of applications for interested candidates for its investor accelerator and launch into venture capital programmes. Dream VC received over 2000 applications between 2021 and 2022.

With 90% Post-Fellowship Success Rate, Dream VC’s ‘Launch into VC Fellowship’ Program Targets New Interests In Venture Capital And Investment

According to the company, the 12-week Foundational Program is designed specifically for younger professionals interested in getting into the Venture Capital and Investment Sector.

The programme is part-time, totally remote, and offered in a bootcamp format. Fellows will be required to put in a minimum of 10–15 hours per week to make the most of the programme. Because the programme is delivered virtually, all sessions will require constant internet access.

This programme does not require any prior investing or VC experience, since the fellowship will build on strong basic foundations all the way to advanced VC issues. However, Dream VC anticipates a high level of integrity and consistency throughout the programme. All potential fellows should be eager to devote a considerable amount of time and effort to the fellowship over the course of many months.

The program will run for 3 months: June to Late August, 2023

How To Apply For The Launch Into Venture Capital Programs

Interested candidates under this category can access the online application portal by following this link: https://dream-vc.typeform.com/apply-livc2023

The deadline for submission of applications is Sunday April 16th by 23:59 GMT.

Dream VC’s Investor Accelerator Program is for Senior Professionals, with an Opportunity to Join a Growing Community of Global Investors

The investor accelerator program is a 20-week executive course designed to upskill senior professionals and current investors so they may become influential ecosystem builders and future investment leaders in Africa.
The program strives to impart fundamental knowledge to its fellows, ranging from performing research and writing investment memos to comprehending the legal and strategic considerations involved in establishing venture capital funds or angel groups.

The program is part-time, totally online, and rigorously run in the MBA style. For the program to be as effective as possible, fellows will be required to put in a minimum of 15–20 hours each week. Considering the program’s virtual format, all sessions will be required to have access to a reliable internet connection.

In all, the Investor Accelerator will run for 5 months: June to October, 2023.

When And How To Apply For The Investor Accelerator Program

All applications will be reviewed anonymously and independently by mid-April, and all applicants should receive an update on the status of their application on April 17th.

Interested candidates under this category can access the online application portal by following this link: https://dream-vc.typeform.com/apply-ia2023

investor Africa Dream VC — ***Dream VC Co-Founders Mark Kleyner and Cindy Ai are active ecosystem builders, advisors and investors in African startups. Source:*** **Dream VC**.

A Look At What Dream VC Does

Dream VC, which was founded in 2021 by a group of investors and former tech founders, including the founders of MZZ Africa, is an entirely remote-first educational institute that aims to democratise access and understanding of the venture capital space for professionals on the continent and in the diaspora.

Dream VC claims to have graduated over 80 fellows from its flagship Investor Accelerator and Launch into Venture Capital Programs, with a fellowship audience currently distributed throughout over 30 countries in Africa, Europe, and the United States.

Around 50 African-focused VC funds actively contribute to Dream VC’s curriculums. Dr. Ola Brown (HealthCap), Samakab Hashi (Lateral Frontiers), Satoshi Shinada (Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures), Keet Van Zyl (Knife Capital), and Zachariah George (Launch Africa Ventures) have all participated in previous editions of the company’s programmes.

According to the company, more than 90% of the inaugural fellows went on 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 writing checks as angel investors or forming their own syndicates, funds, accelerators, or startup funds in emerging ecosystems such as Mozambique, Côte D’Ivoire, Rwanda, and others.

Dream VC plans to host a 16 Investors Mixers event in March and April 2023 to commemorate its third anniversary.

“The 16x invite-only mixers will be across 14x countries, for current and aspiring investors to meet our community, learn about Dream VC and discuss how we can drive more funding to African startups. The Lagos mixer is our first major external investors’ meetup in Nigeria, and this signifies how strongly we want to bring more Nigerians into our programs and the Pan-African investor community,” Mark Kleyner, Dream VC’s Co-Founder and programme Director, says.

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Africa-focused Investor Accelerator, Dream VC, Accepting New Applications

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard

Africa-focused Investor Accelerator, Dream VC, Accepting New Applications

March 2, 2022

Dream VC Co-Founders Mark Kleyner and Cindy Ai are active ecosystem builders, advisors and investors in African startup

After launching a small scale programme in 2021 Dream VC, an Africa-focused investor accelerator and community-driven educational platform providing rigorous remote programs centred specifically around venture capital across Africa’s startup ecosystems, is now back at a much larger scale, and with success to show for their efforts.

More than 90% of the fellows who graduated from the inaugural programme went on 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 writing checks as angel investors or forming their own syndicates and funds in emerging ecosystems like Mozambique, Côte D’Ivoire, Rwanda, and others.

Now, Dream VC is expanding their 2022 programs in order to engage, educate, and upskill a far bigger pool of untapped investor potential, with the goal of being “Africa’s Go-To Launchpad For Aspiring Investors.”

This year, they’re offering two programs, each with over 500 hours of curriculum and more than treble the amount of time fellows spend with the Dream VC team.

The 2022 programs are set to run from June to September (for the “Launch into Venture Capital”) and from June to October (for the “Investor Accelerator”) programs. The first is a foundational VC fellowship for young working professionals keen on pipelining into entry-level positions in VC or other investment firms. At the same time, the latter is geared towards experienced professionals [with a significant operator, entrepreneurial, or advisory background] who have the capital and network to pivot into an ecosystem-building VC career.

What Dream VC Offers

The last few years have seen exponential growth in entrepreneurial adoption. This is only further enabled by rapid increases in the publicity of startups and startup founders — but the investment world has dragged behind. Even as funding has increased, most of this has been concentrated in select deals (48% of total funding for startups in Africa went to just 12 companies), and over 50% of investors are international.

“People are saying entrepreneurship can help to catapult countries across the continent into digital transformation, but this simply cannot happen without an equivalent level of support from the private capital sector,” adds Mark Kleyner, Dream VC’s Co-Founder and programme Director.

This is where Dream VC see themselves plugging in, teaching fellows across both programs with an immersive 0 to 100 knowledge acceleration about the VC space, covering everything from Deal Sourcing and Due Diligence to the varied ways VCs can add value and support companies throughout their investment, exploring complicated topics like Syndication, Angel and VC investments and even the legalities of setting up VC Funds or Angel Groups to invest in African startups.

While international attention is now focused on African startups, there are currently few support structures in place for prospective local investors and chances for working professionals to enter into venture capital on the continent. Dream VC exists to alter this, with ambitious goals to empower the next generation of aspiring investors by creating the networks, educational infrastructure, and environment necessary for businesses to grow and add maximum value across different African startup ecosystems.

“At the end of the day, working in countries like Nigeria or Kenya, founders across the continent often are faced with major obstacles — and there is still a lot that must change about perceptions of investing or building startups in Africa. Investors need to be much more hands-on and add a lot more value than just money to build sustainable, scalable businesses. And this can’t be done without including and enabling local leaders to be more active in the VC space,” remarks Cindy Ai, the other Co-Founder and programme Director of Dream VC. “We aren’t just accelerating a new wave of check-writers. We are catalysing the next generation of African ecosystem builders.”

***Launch into VC Fellow Learning Areas. Source:*** **https://www.dream-vc.com/2022-launch-into-vc**

When And How To Apply

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.

Interested applicants can find more about both programme applications here.

The programs are expected to be extremely competitive, so prospective fellows are highly encouraged to apply early.

Although Dream VC’s core programs are paid, several generous scholarships are available, so highly motivated applicants in need of financial support are still strongly encouraged to apply.

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Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer

Dream VC Launches A Unique Remote Venture Capital Institute For African Investors

May 24, 2021

Dream VC, a remote venture capital up-skilling institute, has launched a new fellowship program dedicated to providing more access and opportunities to traditionally underrepresented individuals in the African venture capital space. The four-month-long summer program which will run from June to September, 2021 is one of the most comprehensive VC fellowship programs in the world, and will place particular emphasis on young homegrown Africans and the diaspora. It aims to teach its fellows basics from conducting due diligence and drafting investment memos, all the way to understanding the strategies and legalities of setting up VC funds or angel groups.

“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,” said Cindy Ai, cofounder of Dream VC. “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?”

Dream VC African investors — *L-R: Cindy Ai and Mark Kleyner, Dream VC co-founders. Image credits: Dream VC*

Here Is What You Need To Know

Fellows who take part in the Dream VC program will get weekly training sessions and project assignments emulating real work done by VC analysts and associates. Fellows will also partake in engaging workshops and community-led upskilling mixers, as well as exclusive panel discussions with top African VCs and serial entrepreneurs on topics such as gender lens investing and more.

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.

The program aims to build a talent pipeline of promising young investors that are intimately familiar with the pain points of the communities they grew up in and can drive change in the venture capital industry through an Afri-centric lens.

“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.” said Mark Kleyner, the other co-founder of Dream VC. “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.”
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Why Dream VC?

Africa’s economic growth has tremendously accelerated in the past few years and has gained more and more interest from international investors. However, there still exists a massive gap between ‘homegrown financing solutions’ as well as funding towards ‘homegrown startups’.

A majority of the investors currently active on the continent are foreign, with North American and European investors at the top of the list. There are exceptions to this, such as Future Africa created by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, co-founder of Andela and former managing director of Flutterwave.

There exists a plethora of VC fellowships in places such as the United States and even student-run VC funds that source and invest in startups built by their peers. These opportunities are crucial stepping stones into venture capital, which is a notoriously difficult industry to break into. Traditionally, if an individual doesn’t have the network, access, background, or know how to ‘hack the competition’, the idea of breaking into VC can seem like a pipe dream.

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 said.

A Look At What Dream VC Does

Launched in 2021, by a team of 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.

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What Does 2021 Hold In Store For African Startups?

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer