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ASIF Ventures makes second investment

Project Cece raises first round of funding to fight for fair fashion. 

Project Cece announces today that it has closed its first round of funding from ASIF Ventures. The leader in fair fashion e-commerce, Project Cece fights for fair fashion by making it easier to shop consciously. They are active in the Netherlands and Germany; now, with fresh funds from ASIF Ventures, they’re gearing up to launch in the United Kingdom.

From school project to international business

Founded in 2017 by three women ready to make a big impact, Project Cece addresses the fragmentation and lack of visibility that currently plagues the sustainable fashion market. By means of an online aggregator, the platform collects products from sustainable clothing brands, both big and small, to help shoppers make fair choices easily.

“The market for fair fashion is characterized by small, relatively unknown brands and shoppers that are struggling to find them,” remarks Project Cece Co-founder, Noor Veenhoven.

Noor Veenhoven and sisters Melissa and Marcella Wijngaarden started Project Cece as a project next to their studies- one co-founder is still wrapping up her PhD in Mathematical Science. Up till now, they have bootstrapped the company. Surviving off of sales commission and part-time jobs, they built the backend technology and a wide network of brands. Now, just over two years later, Project Cece has become a trailblazer in the fair fashion movement.

“It’s not every day you see a company like Project Cece” says Saskia Verstege, ASIF Ventures Director. This marks the second ever investment from ASIF Ventures, the student-run venture capital fund. Run by students and funded by both public and private parties, namely the University of Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit and various angel investors, ASIF invests exclusively in student and recent graduate startups.

“This is what student entrepreneurship is all about,” remarks Verstege, “starting from nothing but a problem and the motivation to solve it. With no resources and limited know-how, the founders fought each step of the way to get here. We are excited to provide the first funding for Project Cece and help them grow even further.”


Project Cece is a tech and fashion startup, founded by three young women, that makes shopping sustainable fashion easy. It is an online marketplace that collects sustainable clothing from small and large brands in one webshop overview where it’s easy to browse different items. With the recent investment and upcoming expansion, Project Cece is also looking for new talent team for the marketing and development team. Contact noor@projectcece.nl for more information.

ASIF Ventures is an Amsterdam based venture capital fund completely run by students and recent graduates. Funded by both public and private sources, namely the University of Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit and various angel investors, ASIF Ventures has €1 million to invest exclusively in young entrepreneurs. Project Cece marks the second investment from ASIF Ventures after Dyme, a fintech startup they invested in earlier this year. ASIF also organizes a range of events to bridge the gap between Amsterdam’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and its student community.

 

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