Skip to main content

Supporting Women Entrepreneurs

Women entrepreneurs typically have to balance community and family service while maintaining their savviness as a businesswoman. To provide support and networking opportunities for women entrepreneurs in the Atlanta area, Dr. Roshawnna Novellus recently launched the inaugural EnrichHER Business Conference that engaged more than 250 participants.


“The main objective of the EnrichHER Conference was to bring together women-led businesses from a variety of industries so that they could obtain access to resources, education, inspiration and access to capital,” says Dr. Novellus. “We highlighted women in technology, civic engagement, arts and entertainment because women in different sectors often doing receive the same type of resources.”

Held at Atlanta Tech Village, EnrichHER was co-hosted by the City of Atlanta. One of the key goals is to create the space to empower women entrepreneurs and plug them into a supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem that will yield business results. At EnrichHER, six women-led businesses participated in a business pitch competition. The winner, Lalanya Abner of ImaginationBeyond Boundaries, was awarded $5,000 in funding.


“A business challenge unique to women being taken seriously, which perpetuates lack of confidence,” says Dr. Novellus. “EnrichHER gave six incredibly talented women a platform to confidently communicate their entrepreneurial passion to an audience of over 250 people. They received feedback and ideas from three subject matter experts and gained potential investors and supporters who believe in their vision.”

The event brought together women power players in Atlanta’s business community, including Lisa Nicole Cloud, CEO of Elite Marketing Strategies and star of BRAVO TV's “Married to Medicine,” who served as keynote speaker. Rashan Ali, multi-media personality, was the master of ceremony. EnrichHER speakers and panelists included Abigail Trembel, president of Randstad; Kimberly Blackwell, advisor for PMM & NBWC; Susan Oh, managing partner of Telemundo; Veronica Maldonado-Torres, program director for Georgia Protege Project; Genevieve Bos, managing partner of Thought Capital.

Judges for the business pitch competition included: Grace Fricks, president of Access to Capital For Entrepreneurs; Theia Washington, executive director of Atlanta's Women's Entrepreneurship Initiative; and Dina Marto, founder of Twelve Studios.



“We were able to have women starting in their entrepreneurial journey connect to seasoned women entrepreneurs, who shared their trials and triumphs,” says Dr. Novellus. “Also, networking to build potential investors, suppliers, strategic partners creates an invaluable space for those breaking into entrepreneurship.”

On the heels of the successful inaugural event, Dr. Novellus is excited for the next phase of providing much-needed support and resources for women entrepreneurs in the Atlanta-metro area. She is preparing to launch a women-led business accelerator program, which will be paired with an alternative funding platform so that businesses have the startup capital necessary to launch their business.
  
EnrichHER welcomes partners who able to contribute monetary donations, mentorship, planning and organization skills, please email hello@enrichher.com. Also continue the conversation on social media with @RoshawnnaNovellus and follow the hashtag #EnrichHER.


Popular posts from this blog

Medicine Wheel for the Planet

Jennifer Grenz, PhD       Working toward ecological healing requires awareness of how Indigenous ancestral knowledge and living ways can complement Western scientific approaches to environmental restoration and protection practices. Dr. Jennifer Grenz (Nlaxa’pamux mixed ancestry) worked for more than two decades as a field researcher and practitioner for environmental nonprofit organizations, where she worked with different levels of government, including First Nations in Canada. "Medicine Wheel for the Planet" compiles Grenz’s most potent realizations about the lack of forward movement in addressing an impending ecological catastrophe.  A warming climate impacts not only human lives but also the natural balance that relies on reciprocal relationships rooted in deep connections to the land. She uses the metaphor of the four directions of the Indigenous “medicine wheel” to invite openness to Indigenous teachings, letting go of colonial narratives, merging lessons f...
Read more

Memento - Embracing the Darkness

Dennis "Dizzy" Doan Stories about overcoming and persevering through family dysfunction, poverty, and mental health challenges offer hope and the promise of better days. Dennis “Dizzy” Doan’s memoir Memento: Embracing the Darkness is one such story, with the added complexity of being raised in an immigrant Vietnamese family. Doan’s parents dealt with the mental and emotional aftermath of war, which forcibly uprooted them from their homeland. In the United States, they struggled to create a safe and stable life for their two sons. Doan shares his journey of finding himself, his craft, and eventually a successful tattoo business in Southern California despite personal strife and run-ins with the law. Doan is best known for developing the aesthetic language to combat anti-Asian hate that erupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. His art series titled “Model Minority” went viral, sparking conversation about Asian American identities and harmful stereotypes. In Memento, Doan showcase...
Read more

Enlighten Me

Editor's Note: This review was originally published in Los Angeles Book Review . Author Minh Lê Standing up for oneself seems like doing the right thing. Binh did just that in the face of a racist school bully who was poking fun at his Asian heritage. But physically assaulting another student goes against school policy, and it was Binh who got in trouble. Binh shares a silent retreat with his family and younger siblings. Along with other children, he learns about stories from the previous lives of the Buddha. The stories are interesting, but for Binh, it is difficult to sit still and clear his mind when he misses his Gameboy. While he struggles with silence, he learns important lessons about friendship, community, and being present. In the graphic novel "Enlighten Me," award-winning author Minh Lê and bestselling illustrator Chan Chau tell the story of a boy who gains a better understanding of himself as he works on quieting the mind and reflecting on dharma. Lê and Ch...
Read more