An example of non-extractive capital. Fit-for-purpose capital is not only about return rate. It is about supportive time horizons for all, level of control, relationships, reprofiling risk, sense of safety for all and the ability to stay true to purpose under pressure.
Founded by Ebru Kaya and André Stürmer, atreyu is a purpose-bound investment business. It sits deliberately at the intersection of three emerging paradigms: regenerative investing, systemic investing and steward ownership, each seeking to align capital more closely with long-term social and ecological health. Its sister initiative, ria (the Regenerative Investing Academy), cultivates these capabilities in atreyu and the wider field.
Ownership Steward-owned evergreen holding company, capitalised on a deal-by-deal basis. Financial investors hold redeemable non-voting preference shares.
Governance Steward-led, participatory, and purpose-anchored. Capital and control are decoupled to keep decisions aligned with mission. Investment recommendations originate with the Stewards (founders) and are approved by the board.
Capital Targeting €20m over 3–4 years; €1m deployed to date: 35% from the founders, 65% from aligned financial investors. 3% p.a. fee against commitments. Preference-share returns capped at 7.2% IRR over ten years; surplus flows to a purpose-bound foundation. “First-in-first-out” liquidity: at each exit, 50% of proceeds redeem preference shares.
Mandate Early-stage businesses (pre-Series A to Series B), Europe and Africa.
After 20+ years of trying to change the system from within, Ebru decided to step away, and asked herself a different question. This question ended up reframing everything. “If I were to invest in my daughter’s business, how would I approach it?” Ebru says: "My daughter is my biggest work in progress. My role is not to project what I want for her onto her, it is to help her blossom in the way she is meant to. When we work with living systems, outcomes cannot be controlled - we can only create the conditions for thriving. That is the shift I am trying to bring into investing: letting go of the belief that I have all the answers, and that I can control the outcomes."
- Decisions held by stewards of purpose
Conventional fund managers ultimately serve their investors: their authority depends on performance and the next fundraise. At atreyu, the Stewards’ authority comes from being accountable to purpose, which changes the basis on which decisions are made. Preference shareholders hold votes only on matters affecting their own share terms.
“We don’t say, “Come and invest with us.” We say, “If you want to explore a different way of investing, come and learn with us.”” — Ebru Kaya
- Investing deep, not wide
Capping returns at 7.2% IRR breaks the power-law logic of conventional venture: the unicorn-hunt no longer applies. Each company has to be underwritten on its own merit. The strategy that follows is scaling deep: fewer companies, grown inside the health of their ecosystems, rather than chasing breakout exits. Jackfruit Finance in Kenya, now serving close to 1,000 community schools, is the working example.
- Capital in many forms
The first ria gathering was held at a surprising venue: the investors gathered at LearnLife, an investee school in Barcelona. Spending time together in the school did more to communicate atreyu’s stance than any clever marketing material could have.
“Financial capital is one flow among many: relational, intellectual, ecological. When we committed to a path even with very limited financial resources, we found we made space for greater creativity and emergence of more value in different forms.” — Ebru Kaya
- €1m invested - 7 early-stage investees in planetary health, human health, and learning & empowerment
- Estimated unrealised portfolio IRR: 10%
- Relational approach is creating opportunities for ‘scaling deep’
- attracting new atreyu investors without solicitation
- ria's introductory programme is now in its 4th cohort, giving rise to several inspirational stories of regenerative investing in practice
- An early failure - European-based team operating in Africa “didn’t understand the context, didn’t understand the people.” That business was later hijacked by a majority shareholder and written off.
- Attracting investors for the target €20m fund size - €5m currently in raise
- atreyu illustrates what becomes possible when founders design ownership, governance and capital together from the outset, rather than attempting to retrofit purpose later. Starting with a deep question opened the possibility of radical imagining. What kind of relationship should exist between capital, people and purpose in the first place? What emerged was a different stance toward enterprise itself. With returns that are bounded, and governance authority held by stewards of purpose, investing becomes a relational and learning practice as well as a financial exercise.
- The case also highlights an important reality within this wider field: coherence often comes more easily at the beginning. Early-stage organisations have a rare freedom to shape the assumptions, incentives and rhythms that later become difficult to unwind. Structures do not guarantee integrity, but they can create conditions that make certain behaviours and conversations more likely over time.