12 weeks to build, backed by a community that pushes you further. No equity. No fees. We connect our best teams to the mentors and partners who can take it further.
To create a campus where every exceptional student innovator can build the next set of unicorns in Africa.
To adequately close the knowledge gap in building venture-backable startups, connecting and building an ecosystem that creates a robust platform for developing co-builders.
Venture Built is a club for ambitious students who want to build. Not just any company, but one with the potential to become venture-backable.
We bring together students with the ambition to build the next generation of great African startups and give them the knowledge, environment and people to push their ideas further.
Through our flagship 12-week cohort, you will learn what it takes to take an idea from the starting point to something real. You'll test problems, understand your users, build products, challenge your assumptions and learn how to think about your business from an investor's perspective.
You'll build alongside ambitious students, learn from founders, operators and investors, and gain a deeper understanding of the ecosystem around building.
It's intense. It's hands-on. And it's built around two things:
Building. Understanding the venture ecosystem.
Venture Built is for ambitious students who want to build something bigger than themselves.
We are looking for exceptional builders from every discipline, from undergraduate to Master's level, who are curious, driven and ready to go all in.
You might have an idea.
You might have a problem you want to solve.
You might have a product already.
Or you might simply know you want to build.
You can apply with a team or on your own.
You don't need a finished startup. You don't need a co-founder. You don't need to have everything figured out. What matters is that you're willing to go all in, learn fast, test your thinking and do the work.
You just need the ambition, the drive to go all in, and the hunger to learn.
Learn the fundamentals. Test your ideas. Build. Iterate. Pitch.
Weekly sessions, a mix of in-person masterclasses from our team and live webinars with founders and operators who have done it.
Turn ideas into products. Talk to users. Test assumptions. Keep improving.
Build alongside ambitious students. Find people to build with. Learn from each other.
Bring it all together. Pitch what you've built to founders, investors, operators and ecosystem leaders.
The goal isn't just to teach you how to build. It's to help you understand the ecosystem around building, including how investors think and how the venture world works.
Here's how the cohort breaks down.
Finding your idea and co-builders, breaking down the problem, and validating your first version. Includes a live session with a founder who has done exactly this.
Sizing your market, landing your first customers, and getting your business model and unit economics right. Includes a live look at how investors actually read a market.
Fundraising basics, the legal side of raising as a Nigerian founder, and sharpening your pitch, ending in the Grand Pitch in front of judges and investors.
We're only looking for the best. Tell us why you want to build, or what about the startup world pulls you in. Come with a team, or come alone, we don't need a finished startup, just real conviction.
Put real thought into your answers, we can tell when a response wasn't written by you. Please include your CV so we can properly review your application.
If we think you have what it takes, we'll set up a call. We're listening for conviction you can defend, not a rehearsed pitch.
Welcome to the cohort. You'll get access to eHub, get added to your cohort group, and be briefed on what the first two weeks look like before your first masterclass.
Our community is open to ambitious students across schools who want to learn, connect and stay active in the startup ecosystem.
Whether you're not ready to apply yet, didn't make the cohort, or simply want to meet other students building and exploring ideas, there's a place for you here.