London investor Yvonne Bajela has closed her first venture fund, Evertrue Capital Fund I, at $17 million, about €15 million, after turning away extra investors. The fund, announced on Tuesday, 3 November, is 100% female-owned and female-led, and it was the first fund to get money from the UK's £130 million Women Backing Women fund of funds. It will write first cheques of around £350,000 into pre-seed startups in the UK and Europe.
Cover photo: Christina @ wocintechchat.com M on Unsplash. A team meeting around a boardroom table; the people shown are not connected to Evertrue.
What happened
Bajela announced the close on 3 November. According to TechCrunch, she had aimed to raise about $13 million, saw strong demand and chose to turn down additional investors rather than make the fund bigger. "Fund size is a strategic decision, not a measure of success in itself," she told TechCrunch.
The fund's institutional backers, as listed by EU-Startups and tech.eu, are:
- Phoenix Court, Bajela's former firm and the home of LocalGlobe and Latitude, through Basecamp, its fund of funds for new managers;
- the British Business Bank, the UK government's economic development bank;
- Better Society Capital;
- Bootstrap 4F, which manages the Invest in Women Taskforce's Women Backing Women fund of funds;
- Allocator One;
- plus founders, operators and other fund managers from Bajela's network.
About 80% of the investors (limited partners, or LPs) are based in the UK, with the rest in Europe, Asia and the US, TechCrunch reported.
What Evertrue invests in
Evertrue backs startups at pre-seed, the first round of outside money, mainly in AI, fintech and frontier technology, in the UK and Europe. It plans to back at least 20 companies over three years, leading rounds or investing alongside others.
- Cheque size: around £350,000 on average, according to TechCrunch and tech.eu; EU-Startups gives a range of £250,000 to £500,000.
- Portfolio so far: seven companies, including Revion (AI agents for the automotive sector), Poindexter Labs (AI), Zuba (fintech infrastructure) and Zaro (a knowledge layer for companies).
- US reach: more than half of the portfolio already operates in the US, Bajela told TechCrunch.
"The best moment to invest is before the market has proof," Bajela said in the fund's announcement, carried by EU-Startups. She added that the founders she looks for "understand a problem deeply, often from lived experience".
Founders she has backed agree. "Yvonne was our first cheque and backed us from day zero," said Zaki Gabe-Wilkinson, co-founder of Revion. Jocelyn D'Arcy, co-founder of Poindexter Labs, said: "Yvonne saw what we were building before it was easy to explain."
Evertrue does not say it invests only in women founders. Its link to women in business is on the other side of the table: who controls the money. If you are preparing to meet a fund like this, our guides to pitch deck examples for a first raise and to finding a lead investor are a good start.
Who is Yvonne Bajela
According to the Invest in Women Taskforce, Bajela's career runs through Goldman Sachs, Mitsui, Impact X Capital and LocalGlobe. At Mitsui she led the investment in Wise when it was still TransferWise. At Impact X, where she was a founding member, she co-led the seed round of the insurer Marshmallow. She then became a partner at LocalGlobe, part of Phoenix Court, before launching Evertrue in 2026.
The women-led fund of funds behind it
On 22 June, Bootstrap 4F named Evertrue Capital I LP, "a 100% female-owned and female-led pre-seed fund", as the first of three commitments from the Women Backing Women Fund of Funds. The other two went to Seedcamp funds led by Reshma Sohoni.
- The fund of funds closed at £130 million on 31 March 2026, with a £250 million target.
- Its anchor investors are Barclays, the British Business Bank, M&G Investments and Nationwide.
- More than 90 funds had expressed interest by June, and Bootstrap 4F expects to back 20 to 25 funds.
"Three investments in less than three months tells you everything about the quality of the pipeline," said Stephanie Heller Galantine, Bootstrap 4F's managing partner, in June. The same programme came up in the UK Budget on 28 October; see our Budget report for women founders.
Evertrue is also one of 10 first-time funds that the British Business Bank backed on 25 June with up to £90 million in total, the first money from its £400 million Investor Pathways Capital scheme. The bank received 151 applications. Women make up 57% of the general partners (the people who run the funds) in that group, and 7 of the 10 funds are run by a single partner. The bank's events page says the next microfund application window opens on 16 November 2026.
Why women-led funds matter for women founders
The UK's Investing in Women Code report, published by the British Business Bank on 8 July 2026, found that in 2025:
- all-female founder teams got 6% of the investment value from Code signatories, against 2% across the wider UK market;
- teams with at least one woman founder got 32% of signatories' venture capital investment, up from 27% in 2024, against 15% of equity investment in the wider market;
- 11% of deals made by signatories with majority-female investment committees went to all-female founder teams, against 8% for majority-male committees.
Across Europe the gap is wider. All-female founding teams took just 1% of venture capital deal value in 2026 up to early September, down from 1.3% in 2025, according to PitchBook. Mixed teams took 16.3%.
Women-focused funds that raised money in 2026
Evertrue joins a run of funds in Europe this year that are led by women or aimed at women founders:
Sources: PitchBook (4 September 2026) for the first four funds, our report on the EIF and BackingMinds, and the 3 November announcements for Evertrue.
Also open this week: Orange's programme for women tech founders in France
On 2 November, Orange opened applications for the ninth edition of Femmes Entrepreneuses, its accelerator for women founders of tech startups. It will support up to 100 women founders and co-founders across France, including the overseas territories, for 10 months.
- Who can apply: founders or co-founders with a majority or equal stake, in a leadership role (CEO, COO, CTO or similar), with a digital product already on the market and first customers.
- Dates: applications until 31 December 2026; selection panels in January 2027; the programme runs from February to November 2027.
- Orange's own figures: 95% of participants are still running their businesses after the programme, and participants created 200 jobs in 2024.
What this means for you
- If you are raising pre-seed in the UK or Europe, new first-time funds such as Evertrue are actively looking for first cheques. Have your deck ready, and know what a lead investor does; read our guide to telling a strategic investor from a financial one.
- Before you sign, know which terms matter at pre-seed: our term sheet negotiation guide lists the points first-time founders should not give away.
- If you want to become an investor, the British Business Bank's next microfund window opens on 16 November, and the UK also funds women-led angel groups; see our report on grants for angel syndicates that bring in women investors.
- If equity is not for you yet, compare non-dilutive options in our list of grants and funding for female entrepreneurs.
- If you run a tech startup in France, the Orange Femmes Entrepreneuses deadline is 31 December 2026.
FAQ
How big is Evertrue Capital's first fund?
$17 million, about €15 million. It closed oversubscribed on 3 November 2026; Yvonne Bajela had aimed for about $13 million and turned away extra investors.
Who invested in Evertrue Capital?
Phoenix Court through its Basecamp fund of funds, the British Business Bank, Better Society Capital, Bootstrap 4F (manager of the Women Backing Women fund of funds) and Allocator One, plus founders and operators.
How much does Evertrue invest per startup?
Around £350,000 on average at pre-seed, according to TechCrunch; EU-Startups reports a range of £250,000 to £500,000. It plans to back at least 20 companies over three years.
Does Evertrue invest only in women founders?
No. The fund is 100% female-owned and female-led, but it describes itself as founder-first and invests mainly in AI, fintech and frontier technology.
What is the Women Backing Women Fund of Funds?
A £130 million fund (target £250 million) set up by the UK's Invest in Women Taskforce and managed by Bootstrap 4F. It invests in venture funds led by women, and its anchor investors are Barclays, the British Business Bank, M&G and Nationwide.
What share of VC goes to all-female founder teams?
In Europe, 1% of deal value in 2026 up to early September (PitchBook). In the UK in 2025, 2% across the market and 6% from Investing in Women Code signatories.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
