Meet Celina Sadijo from the FEM-START team!

Hi Celina! We’re thrilled to be chatting with you today. Could you share a little bit about yourself?

Hi! I’m Celina, 31 years old and born and raised in Amsterdam. I’m half Suriname-Indonesian and half Irish. I studied International Communication and Media in Utrecht with a minor in International Relations in Seoul. I’m passionate about traveling, social issues, design, specialty coffee, old trams and good food.

Tell us, what is your role at FEM-START? 

At FEM-START I currently oversee the website, which includes its design and the back-end. Next to that I also oversee the back office, which includes WooCommerce, Stripe, and all other technical aspects that involve our members. I also pitch in with communication and design when needed.

Why is it important to you to work in strengthening female entrepreneurship? Why FEM-START and its mission to bridge the funding gap? 

I’ve always been passionate about social issues. Specifically equality and intersectionality, in multiple aspects, has always been subjects that I’ve felt very strongly about. In all my work (I work as a freelance designer as well), I strive to better issues I feel passionate about. 

The number of female entrepreneurs in the Netherlands has been growing in the last few years however, in the last year less than 1%(!) of funding went to female entrepreneurs. Read more about this and the discrepancy between entrepreneurs on MT/Sprout.

For female entrepreneurs and their organizations to grow, funding is needed. At FEM-START we actively try to level the playing field for female entrepreneurs, by guiding and supporting them through education, training, and events to let them flourish in a male-dominated field. 

What aspect of your job at FEM-START do you enjoy the most? What do you look forward to? 

I love seeing our community come together! One of the aspects of the job I enjoy the most are our events. Seeing female entrepreneurs come together, getting to know each other and being passionate about growing and cultivating their ideas is a beautiful thing. I’m most looking forward to a new special event that’s still in the works so unfortunately I can’t talk about it yet. Just keep your eyes peeled on our socials and you’ll find out soon!

Reflecting on your journey, what advice would you give to your younger self?

Have a bit more faith in yourself and learn to trust your gut! 

Do you have a personal mantra?

It’ll be okay in the end – so if it’s not okay now – it’s not the end. I carry this as a personal reminder that things will always turn out okay.