Prime Highlights
- Bootstrap4F closes its first round at £130 million to back female-led venture capital managers across the UK.
- Female-founded teams receive just 1.75% of £18 billion in UK equity investment in 2025.
Key Facts
- Fund targets £250 million final close, backed by Barclays, Nationwide, British Business Bank, and M&G.
- Bootstrap4F sits within the Invest in Women Taskforce’s broader £635 million commitment pool.
Background
Bootstrap4F closes its first round at £130 million for its ‘Women Backing Women’ fund of funds, taking a strong step toward reshaping who controls venture capital investment in the United Kingdom.
Three experienced professionals lead the fund. Fatou Diagne and Stéphanie Heller, cofounders and managing partners of Bootstrap Europe, head the initiative alongside Matthias Ummenhofer, founding partner at Mojo Capital, who previously led venture capital operations at the European Investment Fund. The team, selected from a pool of more than 25 applicants, carries a combined investment track record of £4.4 billion.
The vehicle comes to life through the government-backed Invest in Women Taskforce and holds the distinction of being the first fund of funds in the UK built specifically to support female-led and mixed-gender fund managers at scale. Bootstrap4F aims to achieve its final funding target of £250 million because it needs to solve an existing investment chain funding gap. The organization presents its main argument because it demonstrates that changing the person who handles financial assets will change the ultimate recipients of those assets.
The March first close secures institutional support from Barclays, Nationwide, the British Business Bank, and M&G, who combine their public and private funding sources at one location.
Debbie Wosskow, Co-Chair of the Invest in Women Taskforce, outlined some challenges. She points out that fully female-founded teams capture only 1.75% of the £18 billion in equity investment recorded across 2025.
Bootstrap4F operates within the Taskforce’s wider £635 million commitment pool. Partners, including BGF, Aviva, and Morgan Stanley, already deploy over £70 million from this pool.
The fund now moves into its active investment phase, targeting managers who demonstrate both gender diversity and solid commercial performance.
