"Lunch & Learn" on Venture Debt | European Women in VC
The global venture debt market is expected to reach $48.92 billion by the end of 2025, indicating its growing significance in startup financing.
In this session, we’ll gain a deeper understanding of venture debt, featuring Fatou Diagne, Managing Partner & co-founder at Bootstrap Europe, Iwona Biernat, Investment Officer - Growth Capital & Innovation Finance at European Investment Bank (EIB), Luis Eduardo Pazmino, Credit Associate at Capchase, and the host Iwona Cymerman, Managing Partner at FundingBox Deep Tech Fund.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the team via info@europeanwomenvc.org.
See you there!
EWVC
About the speakers:
Fatou Diagne is a Managing Partner of Bootstrap Europe, a Growth Debt fund investing in Technology and Life Sciences, mainly in Europe and the US. Prior to Bootstrap, Fatou was a founding partner together with Stephanie of The Real Economy Effect (TREE) in 2012 where she managed private equity and venture capital portfolios on behalf of family offices and multi-asset managers.
Fatou started her career as an investment banker at Citigroup in their London and Johannesburg offices, where she spent over five years advising European and emerging markets clients on cross border M&A, high yield debt and equity financing and leveraged buyouts.
Fatou is from Senegal, lives in Zurich with her husband and 2 boys who teach her patience and creativity every day!
Iwona Biernat works in the deep tech financing division at the European Investment Bank (EIB) which she joined in 2018 after several years of investment banking experience in London (Morgan Stanley, ING).
Over the last 7 years, her team at EIB has supported over 350 start ups with circa EUR 8 billion financing support for long term technology investments. Iwona moved to France when she was 15 and studied at Sciences Po Paris and HEC Paris.
Iwona loves painting (in her shrinking free time as a mom to two young girls) and is a member of the EIB Arts Committee.
Luis Eduardo Pazmino, born and raised in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Luis currently lives in the Czech Republic with his wife and two kids. He obtained a BBA degree with a major in Finance from Hult International Business School in London, and subsequently went on to complete an MSc in Finance at NUS in Singapore. During his studies, Luis completed internships across a number of areas, such as in an early-stage venture capital fund in Prague and a long-only equity hedge fund in Singapore.
Fintech is a sector that has grabbed Luis' interest for some time, so after university he began working for StashAway, Singapore's leading digital investment platform. As a Wealth Management Analyst he tackled a wide array of responsibilities, such as portfolio analytics, financial planning, and business development. After StashAway, Luis moved to Capchase, where he started as an underwriter. He currently leads Capchase's underwriting and risk management efforts. During his free time Luis is an enthusiastic private investor, focusing on common stocks, as well as an avid reader.
About the host:
Iwona Cymerman is a scientist turned entrepreneur and VC deep tech fund manager with a strong commitment to supporting high-impact companies. Passionate about fostering meaningful connections, embracing curiosity, and continuous learning. Dedicated to driving diversity and inclusion in the VC landscape.
European Women in VC is the most powerful network of female-led and co-led VC funds in the region. We work towards increasing the number of women in VC management roles by giving access to reputable LPs and pushing policy and advocacy work with stakeholders including annual research publications.
Our recent Flagship 2024 Report on "Beyond returns: Venture and Growth Investing Fueling Sustainability and Societal Change". in collaboration with Founders Forum.
Make sure to subscribe to European Women in VC's newsletter for our latests updates and follow us on Linkedin.