Global Ventures opens up VC to 23 interns from 9 countries

We are proud and excited to announce that our 2020 summer-internship program is underway, with an inaugural class of 23 participants from 9 countries attending leading schools, including Yale, Harvard, and London’s Cass Business School. 

The six-week, virtual internship is part real-life work experience, part seminar. It gives undergraduate and graduate-level candidates the opportunity to interact extensively with senior tech investors, while gaining a comprehensive overview of the VC process.

To start, the interns work in groups of three — with at least one MBA holder — led by a member of Global Ventures’ investment team, who enables hands-on guidance and feedback. The interns complete weekly online sessions on VC skill sets, from valuation to portfolio structure. They participate in webinars with well-known VC leaders — like the one last week with Apax Partners and Greycroft Partners founder Alan Patricof. They each complete a tech sector-specific research paper over the course of their internship. At the end of the program, they complete due diligence on a startup and pitch their investment thesis and findings to a mock investment committee. Overall, the program is designed to give students a taste for the rigor of diligence required in best-in-class venture processes.

Our General Partner, Noor, caught up with the intern class recently on a virtual call and was impressed by their focus and interest to make a real societal impact in emerging markets, an important mission for us at GV.

As part of the call, Lina Kaycem, a Yale University student who grew up in Cameroon, told us about her long-term interest in helping to build Africa’s VC ecosystem.

Harvard Business School MBA candidate Vemi Giwa-Amu explained how Global Ventures’ focus on health tech and its investment in Nigerian startup Helium Health drew him to the program.

Jai Vithlani — who’s attending the University of Warwick — came to our summer internship after experience in the startup world led him to want to see things from the investor side of the table.

Since our founding, we have been focused on supporting education and expanding venture investment in emerging economies. Establishing this internship program is a critical part of that focus. Venture capital is an industry many would like to be involved in, yet few people have the chance given it’s still a relatively small space with limited availability of formal programs — especially in emerging markets.

Over the coming weeks, we look forward to guiding and learning from our inaugural class of summer interns. And we encourage those keen to join Global Ventures’ next cohort to follow our website for updates on 2021’s application process.