How to kick the VC diversity issue
For those of you who follow the VC community quite closely, you probably know that the problem of diversity has been around for some time now. It actually is one of many industry categories in which there is a lack of minorities and females.
While change is starting to happen, with the number of women joining US VC firms increasing by 37% from 2018 to 2019, there is still a long way to go with 65% of firms not having a single female partner or GP and 81% not having a single Black investor.
At daphni, we are not perfect and exemplary on this crucial issue but we want to be part of the mission and change the face of the venture capital industry, dramatically increasing diversity and maximising fund success by transforming networks, staff, dealflow and investments. And to make a change, we need to provide access, opportunity and knowledge into the VC world for individuals from diverse communities which are often overlooked or excluded.
That’s why, since last year, we have joined Included VC with 11 other european funds. Included VC is a 9 months Venture Capital fellowship. It comprises 14 components, totalling 6,000 hours of collective contact time and unparalleled access to some of the world’s top investors from the partnering funds. Learnings are delivered via masterclasses and mentoring, deep foundational learning, simulation investment committees and in-person retreats to support professional networking.
And the good news of the day is that the 2021 new cohort of 48 fellows from 21 countries around the world has just been launched. We let you discover this amazing diverse make-up of the fellowship II :
👩 52% Female
🌏 21 Countries
🏙 31 Cities
🏳 25 Nationalities
🧑👩🏽👱🏽♀️ 31% Black, 31% Asian, 18% White, 12% Mixed, 8% Other
👉 15% consider themselves to have a disability
🔆 30% consider themselves to have a neurodiversity (dyslexia, ADHD, etc)
🌈 17% are part of the LGBTQ+ community
We are super happy to support this great initiative tackling the lack of diversity in VC. This is only the start, we are aware this is going to take multi-generational change, but things are looking positive.
Cheers to Included VC cohort 2021!
Da yours,
