Bootstrap4F FAQs
Who is Bootstrap Europe and Bootstrap 4F?
As of April 2025, Bootstrap4F is the newly selected Fund of Funds Manager for the Invest in Women Taskforce. The team’s mission is to channel capital to high-potential, female-led and mixed investment managers, who in turn invest in female-led and mixed founding teams across the UK.
Bootstrap 4F is an affiliate of Bootstrap Europe – a UK-based, FCA regulated firm that is female owned and led. Their team combines decades of experience in fund-of-funds, credit and equity investment, with a laser focus on performance and inclusion.
What expertise does the Bootstrap4F team have?
Bootstrap4F is led by a highly experienced group of partners and advisors, including co-founders of Bootstrap Europe, Stephanie Heller, Fatou Diagne and Matthias Ummenhofer, who have more than 105+ years’ combined experience as investors and entrepreneurs.
The team includes seasoned fund managers, platform experts, and investors with deep ties to the European and UK venture ecosystem. Their experience spans managing globally recognised funds and Fund of Funds, and building and exiting their own businesses.
What is Bootstrap Europe’s gender diversity track record?
Bootstrap Europe is committed to inclusive capital allocation. Women make up 66% of the team. Both Bootstrap Europe and Bootstrap 4F have maintained gender balance not just at the team level, but also among partners and decision-makers. The team believes that systemic change requires everyone’s involvement – including male allies.
Who is the Invest in Women Taskforce?
The Invest in Women Taskforce was established with a goal of making the UK the best place in the world to be a female entrepreneur. Co-Chaired by Debbie Wosskow OBE and Hannah Bernard OBE, the Taskforce is backed by HM Treasury and the Department for Business and Trade.
The Taskforce brings together leads from finance, policy and industry to unlock economic growth by investing in female talent.
The industry-led Taskforce are on a mission to:
- Delivering one of the world’s largest funding pots for female-powered businesses
- Increasing the proportion of female investors – with IWT funding pool deployed via female investment managers
- Supporting the broader ecosystem – working across Financial Services to enable more women to start and scale businesses
Why do we need the Fund of Funds?
If women in the UK were to start and scale their business at the same rate as men, it could unlock £250bn for the UK economy. Yet, the share of equity investment going to all-female founded teams fell to just 1.75% in 2025. Systemic change is needed, which starts by backing more women with capital and power to invest.
Female investors are twice as likely to invest in female founders, and data shows that female-led businesses generate up to 35% higher returns. This Fund of Funds, managed by Bootstrap 4F, was created to drive that change – by backing the next generation of exceptional female investors and accelerating capital into the UK’s most underfunded, high-potential businesses.
What involvement does the UK Government have?
B4F is a private capital initiative and does not have any government capital, except for the British Business Bank’s commitment. The General Partners of B4F are personally invested, because we believe in the UK female VC opportunity.
Additionally, The Invest in Women Taskforce is backed by the Department for Business & Trade and His Majesty’s Treasury. Chancellor Rachel Reeves officially endorsed the Taskforce in September 2024, which demonstrates the UK government’s commitment to supporting female entrepreneurship as part of their drive for economic growth. The Taskforce also benefits from high-level Government representation, with Minister for Investment Lord Stockwood and Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation Blair McDougall, serving as members of the IWT board and Ecosystem Working group, respectively.