Sistafund Research
Investment Thesis
Sistafund (also styled SISTAFUND) is a Paris-based, pan-European venture capital fund launched in October 2022 with a gender-lens mandate: it backs companies founded or co-founded by women, requiring at least 30% of founders' equity to be held by women at the pre-seed stage. The fund was initiated by Tatiana Jama, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of the SISTA collective (an NGO focused on closing the funding gap between male and female entrepreneurs), alongside Isabelle Gallo through their management company SUNSHINE. SISTA Fund I is a French FPCI (Private Equity Professional Fund) regulated by the Autorite des Marches Financiers. The thesis rests on a performance argument, not just an impact one: Sistafund cites studies (BCG, and its own data) showing gender-balanced founding teams generate materially better returns on capital deployed, and positions itself as the largest gender-lens fund in Europe.
Stage Focus
Sistafund leads pre-seed and seed rounds, partnering with founders from day one, with occasional participation through Series A. The homepage states the fund invests "from pre-seed to Series A," while the FAQ frames the core activity as leading pre-seed and seed rounds.
Check Size
Per the fund's own FAQ, initial checks range from roughly EUR700k to EUR3m, with an average ticket of EUR1.5m, varying by stage and round dynamics. External trackers (Caplight, Hopohopo) corroborate a EUR250k-EUR3m range.
Lead Tendency
Sistafund explicitly leads: "We lead pre-seed and seed rounds, partnering with high-conviction founders from day one." It also reserves capital for follow-on participation in later rounds of existing portfolio companies.
Recent Activity
The fund has been active through 2026, with portfolio companies closing rounds across sectors: Rebaba (EV battery circularity) closed a $4.6M seed in September 2026; The Exploration Company (space) closed a $450M Series C in September 2026, becoming Sistafund's first unicorn-adjacent outcome; Suna Health (gut-health tracking) raised GBP3M; Oshen (ocean intelligence) raised $5M; PAVE Space raised $40M; Waiv raised $33M to scale AI-driven precision testing; Recupere Metals raised EUR5M for circular copper supply; and Notom raised EUR2M for AI-driven factory reindustrialisation. In November 2024, the European Investment Fund (EIF), backed by InvestEU, invested EUR30M into Sistafund - the EIF's largest-ever investment in a gender-lens tech fund - materially extending the fund's runway.
Portfolio Highlights
Notable names include The Exploration Company (European spacetech, first investment in 2023, now a Series C unicorn candidate backed by ESA and Starlab contracts), Astran (zero-trust cloud storage/data sovereignty, partnered with Sanofi, winner of Europe's Most Promising Cyber Security Solution), Underdog (circular economy / refurbished appliances, EUR7M Series A in 2025, Elysee Impact Index laureate), Female Invest (closing the financial gender gap, Series A in 2024), Vizzia (computer-vision/AI illegal-dumping detection, EUR16M Series A in 2025), and Orakl Oncology (AI-enabled precision oncology testing, a Gustave Roussy Institute spin-off that has raised over EUR15M).
Team
- Tatiana Jama - Founder & General Manager. Serial entrepreneur (Dealissime, exited to Amazon in 2011; Selectionnist; Levia.ai); angel investor in 30+ companies; co-founder of SISTA (2018); member of the French Digital Council, the High Council for Equality between Women and Men, and the General Secretariat for Investment; board member of Eurazeo PME.
- Marie Geneste - Partner. 15+ years investing across Europe, the UK, and the US from early stage through Series B; previously Investment Director at Educapital and Principal at Edenred Ventures.
- Natacha Brami - Principal. In tech/VC since 2018 across Alliance Ventures, Alven, and Target Global; joined Sistafund in 2022.
- Arthur Hay - Chief Financial Officer. 7+ years in fund finance/administration across France, Belgium, and Luxembourg; previously Finance Director at Astanor Ventures.
- Timothee Ricour-Dumas - Analyst. Healthtech, deeptech, and climate-tech investing experience from Credit Mutuel Innovation and BNP Paribas Developpement.
- Gabriel Huguenin - Analyst. Previously at Via ID (mobility) and ran the Moove Lab accelerator at Station F.
Decision Process
Sistafund uses a "4 eyes" rule requiring sign-off from both partners and associates before proceeding, connects prospective founders with its network of entrepreneur-LPs for diligence, then routes decisions through an advisory committee and an internal investment committee before a collegiate final call.
Founder Preferences
The fund seeks founders and gender-balanced teams (30%+ women equity ownership at pre-seed) who "overcome adversity, shake up conventions, and summon the future to challenge the present," with a preference for high-conviction, first-time institutional partnerships.
Geographic Focus
Primarily France and the rest of Europe (including the UK), with selective investments in the United States. Portfolio companies span Paris, Stockholm, London, Copenhagen, Bordeaux, and Vaud (Switzerland).
Sector Focus
Sistafund names four sectors of focus: Healthtech & Wellbeing, Next-generation Finance & Insurance, Sustainability at large, and Deep Tech / Frontier Tech (notably spacetech and cybersecurity), while stating it remains open to other sectors on a case-by-case basis.