On October 18, 2016, Berkeley College played host to an event titled Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in a Global Economy. The event was part of this year’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Week and was geared toward the goal of empowering more women to succeed in business.
Attended by over 100 small business owners, potential entrepreneurs, and college students, the event featured two panels that discussed various issues regarding modern-day enterprise. The first panel focused on the increasingly significant influence of businesses owned by women. Speakers included women who were raising the bar in various industries, including media, cosmetics, and construction. They included Vera Moore, the president of Vera Moore Cosmetics, and Elizabeth Velez, an executive excelling in the construction industry as president of Velez Organization.
The second panel focused on incubators, such as the Brooklyn Fashion Incubator, that set up women-owned startups for success. Speakers included Monika Mantilla, the president of Altura Capital, and Phumelele Kunene, a Berkeley student running her own design company BlackPhumelele Designs.