Mope Abudu is Founder and General Partner of Knight Ventures, the Pan Africa Digital Accelerator providing a platform to connect startups, mentors and Investors. Their mission is to develop 100 high-growth tech enabled startups to scale and success and also have a venture fund  (AfriGlocal) to financially back those startups. They primarily invest in west Africa, and are key players in the Africa Rising movement, where local Africans take active part in investing in and developing African businesses. She is also founding a $10M venture fund to invest in the pre-seed portfolio companies coming out of her Accelerator. Learn more about her accelerator and fund below.
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"Think Bigger and be ready to drive bigger".

About our Guest:
Mope Abudu has over 20 years accounting and management experience working with the United States, UK and Nigeria. Before starting Knight Ventures, Mope had several management and executive positions in Natwest Cards UK, HSBC Rail UK, The Financial Services authority UK, HEIRS Alliance Nigeria and Nextzon Business Services. Mope has a BSc in Sociology from the University of Lagos - Nigeria, and is a Chartered Management Accountant and has a diploma in Computer Programming.

Learn more about Mope on LinkedIn here.

What you'll learn in todays episode:

• Why she decided to become a VC
• About Knight Ventures Accelerator:
  • the accelerator programme
  • criteria to join
  • tips to founders to have a successful application
• About AfriGlocal VC Fund:
  • investment thesis
  • fund size
  • geographical scope
• The state of funding in Africa at the moment and in NIgeria in Particular
  • key trends
  • key challenges and opportunities
  • what needs to change in the world of funding for women entrepreneurs
• What’s it like for women founders looking for funding? 
• How to break into VC as a woman
• Key tips to women founders currently raising funding - do's and don'ts

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Click Read more to access her key contact details and resources mentioned in the episode.

When you listen to Olga Duka, Managing Partner from Improve Ventures, you cannot help but hear her passion for all things funding great founders in emerging markets, and supporting emerging Fund Managers to help diversify the startup funding landscape.  This episode will appeal to both investors and founders alike, as Olga explains and explores the challenges and opportunities for both 'emerging' sides of the funding table. Once thing's for sure, you'll walk away full of a new found understanding of both topics and assured she's going to leave a mark on this industry. Enjoy!

About our Guest:
1x founder, 2x co-founder, raised a total of $5M, Investment Funds with AUM up to $60M. 
Experience in Talent Development, Investment Funds, EdTech, HR Tech, Fintech, Arts, Creative Industries, and launching new market niches. That's her official bio. Her unofficial bio is, insatiably curious, always learning and applying meta thinking and news ways of looking at things to different industries. Passionate about the worlds of business, music, funding and culture and now Managing partner of new fund Improve Ventures to help fund pre-seed and seed round founders from emerging markets. Also passionate about training the next round of emerging fund managers, and in particular women fund managers.

Learn more about Olga here:

Did you know there is currently only one VC fund in Mexico set up by a woman vc to invest in women and diverse founders? And that special lady is Anna Raptis, Founder & Managing Partner of Amplifica Capital. She is truly on a mission to help close the funding gap for women entrepreneurs in Mexico and to influence same across Latin America. In this episode, she shares many insights into what's going on regarding funding women entrepreneurs in the region, why she cares so much about making change and lots of practical advice for all the women entrepreneurs in Mexico thinking of looking for funding. You'll really enjoy this engaging chat with Anna!

About our Guest:

Anna Raptis leads the first female-focused fund in Mexico. They make investments to generate excellent returns and positive impact on the lives of women in order to increase their opportunities and participation in the economy. They invest in early stages where technology is an enabler to drive sustainable growth in Mexico and Latin America. Anna is also a founding member and President of Mujeres Invirtiendo, an organization that aims to support and increase the participation of women in private capital in Mexico.

Learn more about Anna here:

Did you ever wonder where venture capital funds get the money they invest from? Or how fund managers actually learn to become fund managers? Or why having more diverse fund managers is more important now more than every before? In this exciting episode, Sara Zulkosky from Recast Capital deftly sheds a light on all of this topics and explains why they invest in diverse funds and created their own training programme called the 'Enablement Program' to help train more diverse emerging fund managers. Enjoy!

About our Guest:
Sara is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Recast Capital, a 100% women-owned platform supporting and investing in emerging managers in venture, with a focus on diverse partnerships.
Sara Zulkosky has over 15 years of experience in the venture ecosystem, including both investing in venture capital funds and directly in underlying portfolio companies, and as an operator of a venture-backed company. Prior to co-founding Recast Capital, Sara was a Venture Partner at Greenspring Associates where she led and supported venture fund evaluation teams, among other responsibilities. Before Greenspring, Sara was a Principal at CNF Investments, an affiliate of Clark Enterprises, a private family office, where she invested in venture and private equity funds, and companies. Prior to that, Sara participated in Foundation Capital's Young Entrepreneurs Program, where she helped identify promising investment opportunities in the Washington, DC area. Earlier in her career, Sara was Director of Product Management for a venture-backed company serving the US Department of Defense and Intelligence Community. She was with the business for over seven years beginning at its inception, also supporting it as a Project Engineer, Project Manager, and its Director of Engineering.
Sara received a M.B.A from Georgetown University, and a M.S. in Engineering Management and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from The George Washington University. Sara is also a Kauffman Fellow.
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Learn more about Sara here:

Wondering how to stand out to investors in the competitive European startup market? Looking for an ecosystem of ambitious, innovative Business Angels? Learn more about early-stage funding opportunities and angel investing across Europe in this episode of InvestHer Podcast as you hear from Denise McQuaid, CEO of GoBeyond Investing. 

About our guest:
Denise is a results-oriented leader with a track record in successfully building and growing businesses in multiple geographies spanning from the US to China and with extensive start-up and investment experience. She joined GoBeyond as CEO in 2020 to further develop and grow the business with a unique approach to angel investing at its core. Through its Portfolio Programmes GoBeyond creates communities of like-minded investors with different levels of experience around specific topics like Climate Action or Circular Economy and enables the participants to build a portfolio of early-stage investments while providing them with knowledge and tools to become effective Business Angels.
In 2006 Denise was promoted to her first Managing Director role and since then has worked in senior roles across various industry sectors. Before joining GoBeyond, she was Managing Director of UP Accelerator and senior consultant for Europe’s largest seed capital and angel entity, Enterprise Ireland, among others. Denise is also a start-up mentor with the Imperial Venture Mentoring Service and plays an active role in a number of non-profit organisations.

​Learn more about Denise here. 

Why are fintech and blockchain dominating the VC market today? How do Latina entrepreneurs locate funding opportunities in the machismo environment still present in Mexico? Learn more about getting a head start on your funding journey in this episode as you hear from Carlos Torres de la Cuba, Managing Director at AMG Block Ventures in Latin America. 

About our guest:
Carlos is a proven finance professional, entrepreneur, and executive with experience in venture capital, portfolio management, origination and structuring of transactions, fund raising, and company valuations. He has an extensive knowledge of both the Mexican and U.S. financial markets.
An industrial engineer with an MBA, Masters in Fintech and Blockchain and post graduate degrees in Venture Capital, Private Equity, fintech and blockchain, he has worked with clients in various industries providing personalized financial solutions that resulted in cost effective resource and capital allocation. He is very passionate about blockchain and financial technology as well as developing entrepreneurs, having been on both sides of the table, as an investor and as an entrepreneur.

Learn more about Carlos here. 

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How do unrepresented communities find funding when investors are looking elsewhere? Why is diversity so important in venture capitalism? Learn more about how to stand up and stand out during your entrepreneur journey in this episode as you hear fromMac Conwell II, Founder and Managing Partner of RareBreed Ventures in North America.

About our Guest:
Mac Conwell II is a former software engineer who decided to take on venture capitalism when he realized the need for Black entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs from other underrepresented communities, to get funded in the United States. Based out of Maryland, USA, Mac is the Founder and Managing Partner of RareBreed Ventures, which focuses on funding startups outside of North America's major tech hubs in Silicon Valley, New York, and Boston, during the pre-seed phase.
Mac has founded two companies, one of which he successfully exited, and he has a wealth of knowledge and experience to offer pre-seed companies.

Learn more about Mac here.

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Where do funds get their funds to invest in startups? Where do fund managers learn how to be fund managers? Why is it important to fund more diverse fund managers? In this episode, you'll all this and more from Sara Zulkosky, Managing Partner from Recast Capital. Hear her passion as she tells you all.

About our guest:
Sara is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Recast Capital, a 100% women-owned platform supporting and investing in emerging managers in venture, with a focus on diverse partnerships.
Sara Zulkosky has over 15 years of experience in the venture ecosystem, including both investing in venture capital funds and directly in underlying portfolio companies, and as an operator of a venture-backed company. Prior to co-founding Recast Capital, Sara was a Venture Partner at Greenspring Associates where she led and supported venture fund evaluation teams, among other responsibilities. Before Greenspring, Sara was a Principal at CNF Investments, an affiliate of Clark Enterprises, a private family office, where she invested in venture and private equity funds, and companies. Prior to that, Sara participated in Foundation Capital's Young Entrepreneurs Program, where she helped identify promising investment opportunities in the Washington, DC area. Earlier in her career, Sara was Director of Product Management for a venture-backed company serving the US Department of Defense and Intelligence Community. She was with the business for over seven years beginning at its inception, also supporting it as a Project Engineer, Project Manager, and its Director of Engineering.

Sara received a M.B.A from Georgetown University, and a M.S. in Engineering Management and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from The George Washington University. Sara is also a Kauffman Fellow.

Learn more about Sara here.

How does #radical generosity help locate funding opportunities for diverse women founders? Where do women of color, black indigenous people of color, and non-binary people fit into the funding conversation? Learn more about expanding the global entrepreneur community in this episode as you hear from Vicki Saunders, Founder of SheEO. 
Vicki has co-founded initiatives throughout Europe, Canada, and the United States. She founded SheEO and Radical Generosity in 2015 with the goal of creating a global ecosystem to support women and non-binary entrepreneurs who are working toward solving the world’s top priorities. You'll discover a new model of thinking and great resources for funding your startup in this episode as Vicki answers questions live. Please share and Enjoy!

About our Guest:
Vicki Saunders is an entrepreneur, award-winning mentor, advisor to the next generation of change-makers, and leading advocate for entrepreneurship as a way of creating positive transformation in the world. Vicki is Founder of #RadicalGenerosity and SheEO, a global community of radically generous women supporting women-led Ventures working on the World’s To-Do List. She has co-founded and run ventures in Europe, Toronto, and Silicon Valley and taken a company public on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Vicki has received numerous awards for her work at SheEO, including: UBS Global Visionary in 2020, YWCA Women of Distinction Award in 2020, Business Leader of the Year 2019 by the Toronto Regional Board of Trade, 2018 Startup Canada Entrepreneurship Promotion Award, and was selected as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum in 2001.

Learn more about Vicki here. 

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You won't want to miss this brilliant episode with Angela Lee, Founder of the New York based angel network 37 Angels. Angela Lee is Professor of Practice and the Chief Innovation Officer at Columbia Business School, where she teaches venture capital and leadership courses. Angela started 4 startups and is the founder of 37 Angels, an investing network that has evaluated over 15000 startups, invested in 60+, and activates new investors through a startup investment bootcamp. This episode is packed with incredible advice, answers to live questions and more!  Enjoy!

About our Guest:
Angela Lee is a Professor of Practice and the Chief Innovation Officer at Columbia Business School where she teaches venture capital and leadership courses. Angela started her career in product management and then moved to consulting at McKinsey.  She has started 4 startups and is also the founder of 37 Angels, an investing network that has evaluated over 15000 startups, invested in 60+, and activates new investors through a startup investment bootcamp.
Angela has spoken at the White House and NASA and is an expert in teaching online and making learning scalable.  She is a sought-after expert on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, MSNBC and Fox Business.  She was recognized by Inc. as one of 17 Inspiring Women to Watch in 2017, by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of 6 Innovative Women to Watch in 2015, and by Crain’s as a Notable Women in Tech in 2019.  In 2020, she was awarded the Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence at Columbia Business School.  She serves on the boards of Fresco Fund and Cariclub.

​Learn more about Angela here.