First capital deployed from the ‘Women Backing Women’ Fund of Funds

Bootstrap 4F deploys first capital from £130m Women Backing Women Fund of Funds into three venture funds

  • First commitments go to Evertrue Capital I LP, Seedcamp VII LP and Seedcamp Nation II LP, all led by women and based in the UK
  • Three investments made within three months of the fund’s £130m first close on 31 March 2026
  • More than 90 funds have expressed interest, demonstrating the strong demand from women-led and mixed-gender teams for institutional capital
  • Committed capital already flowing to the chosen women-led seed and growth-stage managers

London, 22 June 2026 — Bootstrap 4F, the fund manager of the Women Backing Women Fund of Funds, today announces its first three capital commitments since the fund’s landmark £130m first close in March 2026, less than three months ago. The commitments - to Evertrue Capital I LP, Seedcamp VII LP and Seedcamp Nation II LP - mark the beginning of Bootstrap 4F’s active deployment into a rigorously selected group of women-led venture capital managers with offices operating across the UK.

The deployments are the first of what Bootstrap 4F expects will be a portfolio of 20–25 venture fund investments. This pipeline reflects the demand for institutional capital in this segment of the market, with over 90 funds expressing interest so far.

Designed to act as a catalyst to change how capital in the UK is allocated, the Women Backing Women Fund of Funds is backed by four anchor limited partners: Barclays, the British Business Bank, M&G Investments and Nationwide.

“Three investments in less than three months tells you everything about the quality of the pipeline. Evertrue, Seedcamp VII and Seedcamp Nation II are each exceptional in their own right and show the depth and breadth of the opportunities we are seeing. Yvonne at Evertrue’s conviction-led, early-stage approach and Reshma at Seedcamp’s near-two-decade track record are at each end of the spectrum. From high potential new names to established managers, we are linking commercial rigour and our gender mandate. Our focus is on high performance and the strong potential to deliver returns.” — Stephanie Heller Galantine, Managing Partner, Bootstrap 4F.

 

First commitment: Evertrue Capital I LP

Bootstrap 4F’s first commitment is to Evertrue Capital I LP, a 100% female-owned and female-led pre-seed fund founded by Yvonne Bajela. An investor with over a decade of experience backing technology companies, Bajela was most recently at LocalGlobe, one of EMEA’s leading seed funds. Her track record includes investments in breakout companies such as Wise, Moove and Marshmallow.

Bajela's path to founding her own fund spans Goldman Sachs, Mitsui, LocalGlobe and Impact X Capital, where she was a founding member and co-led the seed investment in Marshmallow, Britain's second Blackfounded billion-dollar tech start-up. Bajela has been recognised on Forbes 30 Under 30 list. At Mitsui, where she became the youngest investment manager in a global workforce of 90,000, she led the investment in Wise when it was still TransferWise. She has lived and worked across Israel, Kenya and Japan, advising high-growth companies on international scaling. She then joined LocalGlobe as a Partner before launching Evertrue Capital, her own pre-seed fund, in 2026. 

“The work Bootstrap 4F is doing is highly impactful, and I’m excited to be partnering with the team on this journey. Their belief in emerging managers and in expanding access to institutional capital

 

Second commitment: Seedcamp VII LP

Bootstrap 4F has secured an allocation in Seedcamp VII LP, Seedcamp’s 2026-vintage first-cheque seed fund, oversubscribed and backed by more than 100 Seedcamp founders and angels alongside institutional LPs. Seedcamp has backed over 500 companies since 2007, with a portfolio that includes Revolut, UiPath, Synthesia, Wise and Fluidstack.

The fund is co-founded and led by Reshma Sohoni MBE. Sohoni has been named to the Forbes Midas List four times and ranked #1 on the FT’s most influential BAME tech leaders list. Seedcamp’s vintages are above the PitchBook top-decile and top-quartile thresholds.

“Seedcamp has always believed that the best founders are everywhere, not just in the places where capital traditionally flows. Bootstrap 4F’s decision to invest alongside us is a signal that the ecosystem is finally building the infrastructure to act on that belief at scale. I’m proud that Seedcamp’s track record, and our commitment to female leadership inside the firm, helped earn that conviction. I’m excited for the next 20 years of company building.” — Reshma Sohoni MBE, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Seedcamp

 

Third commitment: Seedcamp Nation II LP

Bootstrap 4F has also secured an allocation in Seedcamp Nation II LP, Seedcamp’s dedicated Select strategy, which enters primarily at Series B into breakout companies already within the Seedcamp Core portfolio. The fund’s investment committee is 100% female: Hilary Howe (GP, Select Strategy Lead) and Reshma Sohoni.

Independent analysis by Bootstrap 4F’s investment team found that 80% of companies in the Nation I predecessor portfolio have female leadership at founder, C-suite or board level, with 73–87% of companies UK-headquartered by count. Both metrics substantially exceed Bootstrap 4F’s mandate thresholds.

 

Notes to Editors

About Bootstrap 4F
Bootstrap 4F is the fund manager of the Women Backing Women Fund of Funds, appointed following a competitive process from over 25 applicants. The fund is a £130m (target £250m) closed-ended fund of funds dedicated to channelling institutional capital into female-led venture capital managers across the UK and Europe. Bootstrap 4F’s managing partners are Stephanie Heller Galantine and Fatou Diagne. The fund is anchored by Barclays, the British Business Bank, M&G Investments’ Catalyst strategy and Nationwide. For more information: bootstrap4f.com

 

About Evertrue Capital
Evertrue Capital is a pre-seed and seed fund based in the UK founded by Yvonne Bajela in 2026. The fund is 100% female-owned and female-led, and targets investments in early-stage companies using a proprietary Founder DNA investment framework.

 

About Seedcamp
Seedcamp is Europe’s pre-eminent seed fund, founded in London in 2007 by Reshma Sohoni and Carlos Espinal. Seedcamp has backed over 500 companies including Revolut, UiPath, Synthesia, Wise and Fluidstack. Seedcamp Nation II LP is the fund’s dedicated Select/growth strategy. For more information: seedcamp.com

 

About the Invest in Women Taskforce:
The Invest in Women Taskforce was established with the goal of making the UK the best place in the world for women entrepreneurs by:

  1. Delivering one of the world’s largest funding pools for women-powered businesses
  2. Increasing representation of women investors - with the Taskforce funding pool deployed via women and mixed investment managers
  3. Supporting the broader ecosystem – working across Financial Services to enable more women to start and scale businesses

The Taskforce is backed by the His Majesty’s Treasury and the Department for Business and Trade.

 

The total Invest in Women Taskforce £635m funding pool includes:

  1. Partner Programmes
    The British Business Bank, BGF, Aviva and Morgan Stanley are deploying new capital through their own programmes, aligned with the Taskforce’s mission of backing more women and mixed fund managers and founders.
  2. The Women Backing Women Fund of Funds, managed by Bootstrap 4F

Media contact

MHP Group — Taskforce@mhpgroup.com
Bootstrap 4F direct enquiries: contact via bootstrap4f.com

 

References

  1. Beauhurst: UK equity investment data 2025. Fully female-founded teams received 1.75% of £18bn total equity investment.
  2. Kauffman Fellows: The Rising Tide. Female-led businesses deliver 35% higher returns for investors upon exit.
  3. PitchBook 2025 European All In Report (March 2026): Women raised €9.5bn in 2025, a fourth consecutive annual decline, despite modest improvements in female GP representation.
  4. Barclays / Female Founders Rise: The Rise Report (February 2026): Closing the gender gap in entrepreneurship represents a £310bn opportunity for the UK economy.