Key facts
- Evertrue closed Fund I at $17 million after targeting around $13 million, Bajela said.
- The firm plans an average check of around £350,000 and at least 20 companies over three years.
- Five institutional backers joined, including British Business Bank and Basecamp, Bajela said.
- Evertrue took part in the British Business Bank's £400 million Investor Pathways initiative.
- About 80% of Evertrue's LPs are UK based, with the rest in Europe, Asia and the US, she said.
- Evertrue will invest mainly in AI and fintech, according to Bajela.
Yvonne Bajela announced on Tuesday that Evertrue, her own venture firm, closed an oversubscribed $17 million Fund I. She said the firm had aimed to raise around $13 million and turned down additional investors rather than enlarge the fund.
Evertrue will focus on early-stage investing across the UK and Europe, with an average check size of around £350,000, Bajela said. The firm plans to back at least 20 companies over the next three years and has already backed seven. It will invest mainly in AI and fintech.
Bajela said the fund drew five institutional backers, including the British Business Bank and Basecamp, the fund-of-funds of the investment firm Phoenix Court, which is also home to LocalGlobe. Evertrue took part in the British Business Bank's £400 million Investor Pathways capital initiative, which allocated £90 million to 10 first-time fund managers.
About 80% of Evertrue's LPs are UK based, with the rest across Europe, Asia and the US, she said. More than half her portfolio already operates in the US.
Bajela spent more than a decade as a venture capital investor, most recently at LocalGlobe and Impact X Capital Partners, with earlier bets on companies including the fintech Wise. She said the AI boom helped convince her the time was right to launch her own fund.
PitchBook data through the end of September showed emerging fund managers in the region raised $7.4 billion, surpassing the $6.2 billion raised in all of 2025, according to the report.