Deniz Alexandra Duygu

Deniz is the co-founder of Arya Women Investment Platform. Arya was founded in 2014 as a social business with the mission to increase the number of women-led businesses funded while training and inspiring more women to become investors though events, content and mentorship.

Arya has invested over $2.5 million in women led businesses and has an active women’s angel network. In 2018, Arya received the distinction of Social Business of the Year from Sustainability Academy Turkey.

With her finance, fundraising and entrepreneurship background, Deniz focuses on investment readiness services for predominantly women entrepreneurs, investors, and strategic corporate partnerships. She is an angel investor as well as an LP in Rising Tide, part of a global movement to increase women’s participation in angel investing through a global angel community of successful businesswomen across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the USA.

Deniz started her social entrepreneurship journey with ecotourism in support of rural entrepreneurs after three and a half years of working as an auditor for Ernst & Young.

Deniz has a B.S. degree in Economics and Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University, where she also serves on the Board of the Alumni Association in Turkey. She also earned an M.B.A. from Koc University. She speaks English, German and Turkish fluently, and was a speaker at TEDx in 2019.