Pittsburgh-based investors Next Act Fund and BlueTree Allied Angels are pleased to announce their respective investments in Cisse Cocoa, a female-led company based outside New York City. Next Act Fund is a female-focused fund which has invested $46,000 and BlueTree Allied Angels provided a follow on from their initial investment.

Launched in 2012, Cisse (pronounced SEE-SAY) Cocoa Co is a Fair Trade cocoa company, which sells its baking mixes and hot cocoa products in stores all across the United States. Cisse plans to use the money raised in this round to conduct a total rebrand of its visual identity, launch a new cocoa-based healthy snack product, and hire more marketing staff. Their current products sell in major outlets such as Whole Foods, Target, and Amazon, as well as on Jetblue flights.

Yvonne Campos stated "Cisse is the second direct investment for Next Act Fund, and we are tremendously excited about it. Their female-led management team has tapped into a market that the public can not seem to get enough of. As funding partners, we look forward to working with them as the business scales to new heights."

Drew Morris, Executive Director of BlueTree commented, "We chose to invest because we were impressed with the drive of the management team and saw a strong market opportunity. We are very pleased with the progress and growth the company has managed to achieve since our first round of investment, and we are excited about the opportunities that lie in front of them."

Diana Lovett, Founder, and CEO of Cisse added "we are thrilled to have completed this round of funding and excited about adding partners such as the Next Act Fund, who are so focused on women entrepreneurs. From the start, we have focused on socially responsible cocoa products, and we are looking forward to providing more of those to more people in 2018."

About Next Act Fund
Next Act Fund was founded in 2017 with the intent of investing in early-stage, women-owned/led companies, thereby positively impacting women, the region, and the nation. Next Act Fund, which is the first of its kind in SouthWestern Pennsylvania, is also focused on member education, hosting monthly educational sessions open to its members and the public, as well as a series of educational sessions targeting "future investors".

About BlueTree Allied Investors
BlueTree Allied Angels is a group of over 80 accredited investors that invest in regional, early-stage companies. The members-only organization operates as a network of private equity investors that meets monthly to evaluate and consider pre-institutional investments. Although the membership works together as a group to efficiently and effectively evaluate investment opportunities, each member makes his or her own individual investment decisions.In addition to the angel network, there is also a BlueTree Venture Fund. The Fund is a passive investment vehicle designed to allow investors to invest their capital without investing their time. BlueTree has over $40Million invested in over 35 companies.