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British Business Bank backs new generation of UK venture capital investors with first Investor Pathways Capital commitment of up to £90m

Press release 25 June 2026

The British Business Bank is committing up to £90 million to support a new generation of UK venture capital fund managers, marking the first investments under the Microfunds segment of its £400m Investor Pathways Capital initiative.

The Bank will act as a cornerstone investor in 10 new microfunds - Evertrue Capital, Common Ventures, Openseed VC, The Tech Bros Fund, Almanac Ventures, Future Impact Ventures, Blue Lake VC, Firstdoor VC, Mustard Seed Fund and Twin Track Ventures - with fund sizes ranging from £10 million to £20 million.

Investor Pathways Capital is designed to widen access to venture capital by backing talented first-time fund managers from a range of backgrounds, particularly those who have faced barriers to raising institutional capital. The initiative will support a more diverse and dynamic investment ecosystem across the UK, while unlocking new sources of early-stage finance for high-growth businesses.

The initiative is expected to crowd in significant private capital, while enabling the managers to establish institutional track records. Collectively, the 10 microfunds will focus on pre-seed and seed-stage investing, providing vital first-cheque capital to emerging businesses across sectors including technology, deeptech, artificial intelligence, climate, defence and consumer.

The diversity of the cohort is a key strength. More than half of General Partners in the cohort are women, representing 57% of the total GP base, and 43% of GPs are from Ethnic Minority backgrounds. 7 of the 10 funds are led by solo General Partners, with the remainder led by two- or three-partner teams, reflecting the initiative’s focus on opening institutional pathways to a broader range of emerging investment talent. Together, these characteristics underline the initiative’s ambition to address long standing structural barriers to entry in venture capital and expand access to institutional funding for underrepresented groups.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, said:

We have the right economic plan – backing the next generation of investors to spur growth and ensure businesses start, scale-up and expand across every part of the country. Alongside investments from the British Business Bank, our significant changes to the Enterprise Management Incentive scheme and our venture capital tax schemes at the last Budget will help entrepreneurs attract and retain the best talent while supporting around £100m of extra investment a year

Mark Sims, Managing Director and Head of Development Equity Funds, British Business Bank, said:

The first Microfunds cohort under Investor Pathways Capital represents an important milestone, delivering on our commitment to build the next generation of UK venture capital investors. By backing first-time fund managers and improving access to finance at the earliest stages, we are helping to create a more diverse and resilient pipeline of high-growth UK companies

Liz Bailey, Director, Development Equity Funds, British Business Bank, said:

These funds bring deep sector expertise and highly targeted strategies across sectors like technology, artificial intelligence, climate and consumer. That specialism is critical at the earliest stages, where understanding emerging technologies and markets can make a real difference to company outcomes. These funds are positioned to spot and back ideas early, in sectors that will shape the future economy

Meghan Stevenson-Krausz, former CEO of Diversity VC, said:

Who gets to allocate capital shapes which ideas are funded, which companies are built and ultimately who benefits from economic growth. Investor Pathways Capital represents an important step towards broadening access to venture investing by helping talented emerging managers establish institutional track records. By de-risking participation for private investors and opening doors to a wider range of investment talent, the programme has the potential to strengthen the UK's venture ecosystem and ensure that more of the country's entrepreneurial talent can contribute to future growth

The cohort was selected following a highly competitive process, with 151 applications received for the Microfunds segment. All 10 selected funds are led by first-time institutional managers, many of whom are formalising an existing edge built through prior operator experience, community-building, or early-stage investment activity.

Further Information

If you are a journalist and have a media enquiry, please contact [email protected].

Notes to editors

About the funds in the first cohort

  • Common Ventures

    Led by David Houghton - backs the UK’s leading state-educated founders at pre-seed - investing based on the journey they’ve been on, rather than their pedigree.

  • Future Impact Ventures

    Led by Jordan Fletcher, Gosbert Chagula MBE and Mandy Nyarko MBE, founders of Startup Discovery – backing mission driven founders building inclusive climate solutions that accelerate an equitable net-zero transition.

  • The Tech Bros: Fund I

    Led by Dr. Milette Gillow - backs technical female founders at pre-seed, primarily graduates of The Tech Bros: the world's first all-female, all-technical accelerator.

  • Mustard Seed Fund I

    Led by David Olusegun, which is the first Black-led VC in UK & Europe investing solely in consumer brands. The fund backs the founders and brands reshaping how people eat, live and feel.

  • Blue Lake VC

    Led by David Gilgur and Lyubov Guk. Blue Lake is the first institutional cheque into exceptional immigrant founders in the UK.

  • Firstdoor

    Led by Deborah Oklena - is investing in the next-gen agenda: the access infrastructure of the modern economy.

  • Almanac Ventures

    Led by Jo Słota-Newson and Marc Sabás - backs early-stage, European Deeptech companies driving industrial competitiveness, resilience and decarbonisation.

  • Twin Track Ventures

    Led by Nicola Sinclair – London-based pre-seed fund helping founders across European NATO turn defence traction into commercial scale.

  • Openseed

    Led by Maria Rotilu, writes first cheques into exceptional operators building technology companies on day zero, and brings a global operator network to support them from start to launch.

  • Evertrue Capital

    Led by Yvonne Bajela - is a founder-first venture fund backing exceptional founders at the earliest stages, before they become obvious.
     

The General Partners referenced in this article will be appointed representatives of Managers who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority or Venture Capital Funds (RVECA) registered in the United Kingdom.

About the British Business Bank

The British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to drive economic growth by helping smaller businesses get the finance they need to start, scale and stay in the UK. Its remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government. 

The British Business Bank’s core programmes support £23bn 1   of finance to almost 64,000 2   smaller businesses. 

British Business Bank plc is a public limited company registered in England and Wales, registration number 08616013, registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. It is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. With the exception of BBB Investment Services Limited they are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority or the Financial Conduct Authority. BBB Investment Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. A complete legal structure chart for the group can be found at british-business-bank.co.uk.

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