Ecem is the founder of Micro Anatolia Microfinance Fund, a seed fund for women entrepreneurs and SMEs. She founded Micro Anatolia as a tool to address urban poverty and to support women’s economic empowerment. Ecem is also the co-founder of Avancé, a traditional jewelry wholesale start-up between the US and Turkey. She previously worked in microfinance with Grameen, in research co-teaching Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the Eugene Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility, and in impact investing at Swiss based Bamboo Finance – BlueOrchard Private Equity Fund.
Ecem received a BA in Economics and Asian Studies from Swarthmore College, USA, and spent a year at Oxford University focusing on Social Finance and Banking. Ecem holds an MSc in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics.
