Yvonne Bajela has a track record of backing technology companies before they became some of the most recognised names in their industries. Several of these investments have gone on to achieve unicorn status including international money transfer company Wise, British insurtech Marshmallow and Nigerian mobility fintech Moove and fintech Flutterwave.

Now, the British-Ghanaian venture capitalist is putting her investment philosophy to work through her own firm, Evertrue Capital, after closing a $17 million debut fund.

In an interview with TechCrunch, Bajela said the decision to launch her own fund followed years of backing other founders.

“After more than a decade backing founders who bet everything on their ideas, it felt like time to make a bet of my own,” she told TechCrunch. “I wanted the independence to act on those convictions and build something that reflected my own approach to investing.”

The oversubscribed Fund I will back early-stage startups across the UK and Europe, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and financial technology. Bajela initially targeted $13 million but secured enough investor interest to close at $17 million, turning away additional commitments rather than increase the fund size.

From Goldman Sachs to building her own investment firm

Bajela brings a decade of experience across venture capital, private equity and corporate investment. Before launching Evertrue, she worked at LocalGlobe and Impact X Capital Partners, where she backed companies including fintech firm Wise and insurance startup Marshmallow.

At Impact X Capital Partners, she was part of the founding team of the UK-based venture capital firm, established in 2019 to support underrepresented entrepreneurs across Europe.

Before joining the venture capital industry, Bajela worked as a senior investment manager at Japanese trading and investment company Mitsui & Co, where she led investments in technology businesses. She began her career as an analyst at Goldman Sachs in London.

Her investment experience spans Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with professional stints in markets including Japan and Israel.

British Business Bank among five institutional backers

Evertrue secured commitments from five institutional investors, including the British Business Bank and Basecamp, the fund-of-funds managed by Phoenix Court, the investment group behind LocalGlobe.

The fund was selected for the British Business Bank’s Investor Pathways initiative, a £400 million programme designed to support emerging fund managers. Under the initiative, the bank committed £90 million to 10 first-time fund managers. Around 80% of Evertrue’s limited partners are based in the UK, with the remaining investors spread across Europe, Asia and the United States.

Despite initially targeting $13 million, Bajela decided against increasing the fund size after attracting additional investor interest.

“Fund size is a strategic decision, not a measure of success in itself,” she told TechCrunch, explaining her preference for maintaining sufficient capital to build meaningful positions in selected investments without pressure to deploy additional funds.

AI and fintech at the centre of investment strategy

Evertrue will focus primarily on AI and fintech, two sectors Bajela believes offer opportunities for early-stage investors. She attributes part of her decision to launch the fund to the changing economics of building technology companies, particularly as AI tools reduce some of the barriers to developing new products.

“The ability to build has been democratized,” she said. “But the ability to build something enduring remains rare.”

Her investment approach will prioritise founders with distinctive insights into problems, strong execution capabilities and ambitions to build businesses beyond their initial products. She also considers founders’ personal journeys, including the challenges they have overcome and how those experiences influence their approach to building companies.

More than half of Evertrue’s existing portfolio companies already operate in the United States, reflecting the firm’s interest in backing businesses with international ambitions.

For Bajela, the objective extends beyond deploying capital. She wants Evertrue to build a reputation around the founders and companies it backs.

“I want Evertrue to be known for the quality of the founders I back and the businesses they go on to build,” she said.

The $17 million close adds another British-Ghanaian name to the growing list of African diaspora professionals building investment institutions in international markets.