First Time Female Fund Managers Fellowship

A cohort-based educational fellowship for next-gen gender diverse first-time fund managers.
10 to 12 fellows will be selected with full scholarship for the first cohort. The deadline to apply is March 8, 2022.
Ventures led by women are more profitable than men-led, yet they raise only 2.3% of venture funding.

We are looking for exceptional investing and businesswomen professionals interested in advancing their skills as first-time fund managers. We want to work with future venture leaders to increase diversity in the fund management industry and accelerate our shared vision.
​This three-month-long fellowship co-created by First Followers and Network Capital starts in March 2022.
Write your awesome label here.

Structure

Total Length of the fellowship program: 9 weeks
# Modules: 9 
Frequency: 1-3 modules / week
Format: 2 hours session with 1 hour of the workshop on the module and 1 hour of Q&A discussion.

9 blocks fund model canvas

Investment Thesis / Fund Thesis, Portfolio Construction, Fund Economics, Target Profile - Entrepreneurs & LPs, Unfair Advantage, Purpose & Story, & Team, Fund Structure, and Process - Fund & Portfolio Level

Credibility/ Signalling

By being selected by a recognised team of private experts and benefits from and expertise of the Angel investing ecosystem

Visibility

By being regularly featured and presented in dedicated GLI, FTFMs, Angels, and LP media and events

Community

Share the experience with like-minded gender-diverse FTFMs

India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore

2-3 cohort members – per country
6-9 cohort members in total

The case for diversity in fund management

Until now, the asset management community has been challenging to enter due to persistent barriers that particularly impact first-time female and minority fund managers. Cultural and gender biases can make it difficult for women and people of color to raise capital for private and institutional investors. And fund managers generally need to commit 1-2% of the total capital for a new fund themselves, which prevents many women and minority fund managers from entering the industry.
It’s a chicken and egg situation: Unless we break these societal, cultural, and financial barriers, we can’t bring diversity to venture capital or asset management in general. And without more diversity in the industry, these barriers will be hard to break. That’s why we need to make a concerted effort to democratize venture capital to make it more accessible for people from diverse backgrounds, making it easier for them to start venture funds and play a role in creating a conscious economy.

At the end of the three months, fellows can expect -

1

To know the basics of building a fund

2

Be able to use the basics to build a track record and do angel investing with a strategy

3

Be a part of a community of emerging managers and established managers 

4

Possibly interact with Angel Networks and LPs at the end of the program 

Our Mentors

Namita Dalmia
Partner, Enzia Ventures
Soumya Rajan
Founder & CEO Waterfield Advisors
Shrishti Sahu
Co-Founder, Hustle Hard Venture
Richa Natarajan
Director of Unitus Capital
Maya Chandrasekaran
Co-founder & Managing Director, Green Artha
Virginia Tan
Founding Partner, Teja Ventures & Co Founder, She Loves Tech
Amra Naidoo
Co-founder & General Partner
Accelerating Asia
Sameer Guglani
Collaboratively building Supermorpheus
Stella Tambunan
Vice President, Indonesia Investment Authority
Bob Pattillo
Founder of Gray Matters Capital
Lisa G. Thomas
Founder and Managing Director, Samata Capital
Lesley Bendig,
Venture Capital, Private Equity & Corporate Advisory

Who is this fellowship for?

Profile

Serial entrepreneurs, CXOs (Operators), and Investment & Finance Professionals.

Type

Talent investing, i.e., investing or capacity building of the talent (potential fund managers) without launching the fund. 

Stage

1. Planning to make angel investments or have been actively seeking opportunities to invest in building the track record. 

2. Planning to start a venture or impact fund in the near future but have not started it. 

How many participants will be selected for the program?

10-12 fellows

How about time committed to the program?

2-3 hours per week; 12 weeks 

What happens in the 12 weeks? 

Core Modules - 9 sessions covering topics like Investment Thesis / Fund Thesis, Portfolio Construction, Fund Economics, Target Profile - Entrepreneurs & LPs, Unfair Advantage, Purpose & Story, & Team, Fund Structure, and Process - Fund & Portfolio Level
GP Perspective - 6 sessions
LP Perspective - 3 sessions
Demo Day - 1 session

How much does it cost to enroll in the program?

The first cohort of the fellowship is free. 
Created with