Bootstrap Europe, a EUR250 million (US$270 million) growth debt fund that has so far provided over US$1 billion in loans to 300 businesses, is opening an African franchise to increase the amount of debt funding available to early-stage startups.
Founded in 2015 by Fatou Diagne and Stephanie Heller, and based out of Luxembourg, Bootstrap Europe aims to provide alternative financing options to high-growth companies, where founders and their investors are particularly sensitive to dilution.
“The approach will be similar to our European model, which focuses on providing financing and loans to startups backed by institutional VCs across various sectors, supporting the African entrepreneurial landscape with the same conviction, and offering long-term, substantial financial involvement,” Diagne said.
Having grown up in Senegal, but then studied in France, where she met Heller, Diagne started her career in London at Standard & Poor’s in ratings services, before moving to Citigroup in Equity Capital Markets and Investment Banking.
“Following the financial crisis in 2008, I transferred to Citigroup in Johannesburg, joining the number one team at the time in cross-border M&A and high-yield bond issuance. This experience provided a solid foundation in financial analysis and strategy,” she said. “Over time, I became more passionate about supporting businesses with the potential to make a strong impact on our economies.”
This led her to join African Risk Capacity, a startup launched within the UN World Food Programme, with a mission to establish a parametric weather insurance scheme to provide coverage against food insecurity to vulnerable populations.
“This experience ultimately led me to invest in tech startups, as I believe the intersection of finance and technology can best address the societal and environmental challenges we face,” said Diagne.
“I recognised the untapped potential of African tech and the innovative solutions emerging from the continent. I also believe that African entrepreneurs are the most resilient – simply because they have to be. The growing ecosystem of tech startups addressing local and global challenges really inspired me. I saw an opportunity to leverage my investment expertise to support these startups and help drive sustainable growth across Africa.”
Diagne and Heller founded Bootstrap Europe with the vision of providing alternative financing options to high-growth companies, where founders and their investors are particularly sensitive to dilution.
“We identified a gap in the market, particularly for companies in Europe and Africa that needed flexible, founder-friendly financing solutions. We wanted to support companies not just with capital but also with strategic guidance, ensuring they could scale sustainably,” said Diagne.
Boostrap Europe, which closed its third fund last year, has so far financed over US$1 billion in loans to over 300 European businesses. The organisation’s funding comes from a diverse pool of institutional investors, family offices, private investors, and development institutions such as the European Investment Fund, British Business Investment, and the Visa Foundation.
“We are now launching our franchise in Africa to support the local ecosystem with the same conviction,” said Diagne.
Sector-wise, Bootstrap Europe will seek out scalable businesses with stable unit economics and clear paths to breakeven, focusing on fintech, e-health, and logistics, as well as – but on a smaller scale – agri-tech, renewable energy, and ed-tech.
“From deep-tech to sustainable manufacturing solutions, logistics, to ethical money remittance tools, we want to work with founders who want to make a positive impact today and for the good of the future. Our product, Venture Debt, is suitable for businesses at the late Series A or Series B stage, with a couple of millions of run-rate revenues, who have already received equity funding from institutional VC funds. These businesses are at an inflexion point in their growth and valuation, have already figured out their product-market fit and want to accelerate their growth without diluting their equity unnecessarily,” said Diagne.
“We will initially be driving the investments from our office in London, leveraging our relationships in South Africa, Kenya, Senegal and Morocco for precious local knowledge and contacts.”
