How Hadiyah Mujhid Is Creating Pathways For Graduate Students And Recent HBCU Alums To Become Venture Capitalists

Hadiyah Mujhid is looking to diversify the world of venture capital (VC).

Formation Of HBCUvc

The mission of this University of Maryland Eastern Shore graduate was born from a career pivot. In an interview with ForbesBLK, Mujhid recalled her earlier venture, Picturely, which was launched in 2011. The computer vision startup shaped her understanding of VC and the barriers faced by underserved communities. While she closed that chapter, she explained that she was “walking toward a bigger, more systemic challenge.”

In 2017, she launched HBCUvc, a nonprofit organization that creates pathways for Black communities to access funding or become investors, according to the organization’s website. She believed in its vision so strongly that she pulled from her personal savings, took up freelance consulting and applied for grants in her first year, she shared with ForbsBLK. Additionally, she secured an investment from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

“I was fortunate to receive support from the Kauffman Foundation — our first major funder. That early investment not only provided critical resources, but also signaled credibility to other foundations that later came on,” Mujhid told the outlet.

“While it may look like success came quickly, it was actually built on the back of a non-profit, Black Founders, which I had started that didn’t work out. My relationship with that first funder began during that earlier effort — not through HBCUvc directly. It’s a reminder that what often appears to be overnight success is actually the result of years of failure, persistence, and lessons learned,” Mujhid continued in the Forbes interview.

Programs

HBCUvc has secured $6.6 million in grants since its inception and gained support from the MetLife Foundation, Social Good Fund, and the NASDAQ Foundation, notes ForbesBLK. The funding affirms HBCUvc’s initiatives, including several key programs and efforts, such as Start Up School, a yearly undergraduate summit connecting students to Silicon Valley leaders.

Mujhid shared with ForbesBLK that HBCUvc also offers paid internships to MBA students and recent HBCU alums with its partner VC firms. According to the organization’s website, students work directly alongside top investors and learn how to evaluate startups, make wise investment decisions and successfully navigate the VC world.

“The program creates awareness of venture capital as an industry by teaching fundamental VC topics through a culturally aware lens,” according to a description on Mujhid’s LinkedIn.