Ready to discover how venture capital can drive real impact for emerging markets—and what true leadership looks like in the investment world? In this episode of Female VC Lab, host Barbara Bickham sits down with Eva Yazhari, Managing Partner at Beyond Capital Ventures, for an unfiltered conversation on building a mission-driven VC fund, why conscious leadership matters, and how investing in Africa and India’s rising middle classes creates incredible opportunities for transformation. Tune in to hear Eva share how she moved from finance into venture capital, her relational approach to due diligence, why formalizing informal markets like smallholder farming is a game-changing thesis, and how she’s fostering community and alignment by giving GP carry to all team members—and even founders. Whether you’re an aspiring investor, a founder in emerging markets, or simply passionate about sustainable growth, you’ll walk away inspired and equipped with fresh insights into where VC is headed next.
Guest Information
Guest Name: Eva Yazhari
Bio: Eva Yazhari is the Managing Partner of Beyond Capital Ventures, a purpose-driven venture capital firm investing in seed to Series A rounds across Africa and India. With roots in institutional finance, Eva brings a wealth of experience in fund management, deep due diligence, and impact investing, focusing on technologies and services that uplift the “need to haves” through conscious leadership and stakeholder alignment.
Links:
Episode Outline
How Eva Yazhari Entered VC & Built Beyond Capital Ventures
Hear Eva’s unconventional journey from math major to fund-of-funds to founding her own emerging markets VC, and the unique skill set she carried into her new role. Resource: Beyond Capital Ventures Team
Formalizing Informal Markets in Emerging Economies
Explore “formalizing the informal,” and learn how Beyond Capital Ventures invests in businesses that empower smallholder farmers and aggregate resources for scalable, sustainable impact, featuring a spotlight on agritech company Cinch.
Resource: Portfolio Companies
Conscious Leadership & Redefining VC Alignment
Gain insight into Eva’s approach to authentic, stakeholder-centered leadership, including her innovative decision to share GP carry with both her team and portfolio founders—creating alignment and community while driving results.
Resource: The Good Your Money Can Do
Related Episodes & Additional Resources
Book Recommendation: The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle – Eva’s pick for building strong, collaborative cultures
Host & Show Info
Host Name: Barbara Bickham
About the Host: Barbara Bickham is the founder and Managing Partner of Trailyn Ventures, technology execut
Ready to discover how venture capital can drive real impact for emerging markets—and what true leadership looks like in the investment world? In this episode of Female VC Lab, host Barbara Bickham sits down with Eva Yazhari, Managing Partner at Beyond Capital Ventures, for an unfiltered conversation on building a mission-driven VC fund, why conscious leadership matters, and how investing in Africa and India’s rising middle classes creates incredible opportunities for transformation. Tune in to hear Eva share how she moved from finance into venture capital, her relational approach to due diligence, why formalizing informal markets like smallholder farming is a game-changing thesis, and how she’s fostering community and alignment by giving GP carry to all team members—and even founders. Whether you’re an aspiring investor, a founder in emerging markets, or simply passionate about sustainable growth, you’ll walk away inspired and equipped with fresh insights into where VC is headed next.
Guest Information
Guest Name: Eva Yazhari
Bio: Eva Yazhari is the Managing Partner of Beyond Capital Ventures, a purpose-driven venture capital firm investing in seed to Series A rounds across Africa and India. With roots in institutional finance, Eva brings a wealth of experience in fund management, deep due diligence, and impact investing, focusing on technologies and services that uplift the “need to haves” through conscious leadership and stakeholder alignment.
Links:
Episode Outline
How Eva Yazhari Entered VC & Built Beyond Capital Ventures
Hear Eva’s unconventional journey from math major to fund-of-funds to founding her own emerging markets VC, and the unique skill set she carried into her new role. Resource: Beyond Capital Ventures Team
Formalizing Informal Markets in Emerging Economies
Explore “formalizing the informal,” and learn how Beyond Capital Ventures invests in businesses that empower smallholder farmers and aggregate resources for scalable, sustainable impact, featuring a spotlight on agritech company Cinch.
Resource: Portfolio Companies
Conscious Leadership & Redefining VC Alignment
Gain insight into Eva’s approach to authentic, stakeholder-centered leadership, including her innovative decision to share GP carry with both her team and portfolio founders—creating alignment and community while driving results.
Resource: The Good Your Money Can Do
Related Episodes & Additional Resources
Book Recommendation: The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle – Eva’s pick for building strong, collaborative cultures
Host & Show Info
Host Name: Barbara Bickham
About the Host: Barbara Bickham is the founder and Managing Partner of Trailyn Ventures, technology execut
In this powerful episode of Female VC Lab, host Barbara Bickham sits down with Mary King, vice president at Aligned Climate Fund, to uncover how venture capital is accelerating the global clean energy transition. If you’re curious about the future of climate tech, energy innovation, and how investors are driving decarbonization, this episode is for you!
Mary pulls back the curtain on Aligned Climate Fund’s investment thesis: investing in companies taking real action to decarbonize our infrastructure—including clean energy, resilient infrastructure, electric transport, and sustainable land use. You’ll hear insider stories about backing geothermal breakthroughs, innovative microgrid solutions, and the growing impact of point source carbon capture. Mary and Barbara also dive deep on challenges in climate tech VC, how AI could transform investment diligence, and why distributed energy and resilience are game changers for communities around the world.
Whether you’re in the climate space, an entrepreneur, or just passionate about shaping a sustainable future, you’ll walk away with fresh insights and inspiration for what’s next in climate innovation and venture capital.
Guest Information Guest Name: Mary King Bio: Mary King is vice president at Aligned Climate Fund, the venture strategy for Aligned Climate Capital. She invests in early-stage companies driving decarbonization across clean energy, resilient infrastructure, electric transport, and sustainable land use. Links:
Mary King’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryeking/
Aligned Climate Capital: https://alignedclimatecapital.com/
Episode Outline
Aligned Climate Fund’s Investment Thesis Mary explains how Aligned invests in seed to Series B companies with proven climate solutions, focusing on clean energy, resilient infrastructure, and decarbonization.
More about Aligned Climate Capital
The Role of Emerging Technologies: Geothermal, Microgrids & Carbon Capture A look at how Aligned approaches geothermal and microgrid investments, plus insights on distributed energy and point source carbon capture for scalable climate action. Resource: What is Geothermal Energy?
Resource: Distributed Energy Resources
The Future of Climate Tech and VC: AI, Diligence, and Industry Shifts Mary predicts how AI will soon revolutionize VC deal flow and diligence, enabling faster, smarter investment decisions—and what this means specifically for the climate sector. Resource: AI in Venture Capital
Transcript For a full transcript of this episode, visit: https://femalevclab.com
About the Host: Barbara Bickham is a venture investor, technologist, and founder of Female VC Lab. She champions women in venture and spotlights game-changing leaders investing for a better future. Podcast Website: https://femalevclab.com
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