With its resource services, De Clique organises CO2-neutral collection of separated organic waste flows (e.g. coffee grounds and orange peels) from companies, supermarkets, and hospitality facilities in urban areas. These waste flows are subsequently used to develop new products, such as bread, soap and beer. This way, a hyperlocal circular chain is realised: the resources collected in urban areas serve as the basis for new products sold in the cities.

De Clique was founded in 2019 by Anja Cheriakova and Bas van Abel, who are both experienced social entrepreneurs (a.o. BinBang en Fairphone). The company started out in Utrecht, where it it currently serves over 60 clients, including shopping centre Hoog Catharijne and Utrecht University. The operations in Utrecht will be used as a blueprint for expansion to other cities, which is planned for the coming five years.

Our investment in De Clique has been done together with co-investors Fair Capital Partners, Blue Parasol Investments and Pymwymic Donor Involve Fund. A noteworthy detail is that the investment has taken place based on the principles of steward ownership. With this, the control of De Clique will be held in a foundation, which protects the mission of the company on the long term.

At TEDxUtrecht Countdown, Anja en Bas gave a presentation on the ‘zero waste cities’ which they build with De Clique – you can find the recording below!