The women-led and internationally recognized social enterprise, PowerFuel Damas, celebrated its third-year anniversary in San Diego on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at the restaurant Coco Maya. Co-founders Danielle Vantini and Mayra Brito – based in Pacific Beach – celebrated PowerFuel Damas and three years of economic growth, social impact, humanitarian initiatives, and expanding their international community of members from 26 countries.
A diverse crowd of entrepreneurs, community leaders, and professionals attended the celebration, which featured speakers, a music performance, local vendors, and a unique partnership to raise funds for the anti-human trafficking local nonprofit, Girls Rising Above Child Exploitation (G.R.A.C.E.).
“To have watched our company’s global growth over this three-year journey and witness the massive success we’ve achieved fuels our hearts,” said Vantini. “I’m proud to say it’s a result of extreme resilience, work ethic, mental fortitude, and continuous hard work. Our passion for PowerFuel Damas leads the way to create infinite opportunities for business and social impact globally.”
“My heart is filled with gratitude for having impacted so many lives in the past three years with PowerFuel Damas, and this is just the beginning. Nothing can stop a woman that is ready to take over the world and bring other women with her,” said Brito. “Having the community’s support has been essential, and we are excited to release our global academy soon, teaching more damas how to take back their power and live the abundant life they deserve.”
In the last three years, and despite a global pandemic, the co-founders have successfully established their international business, which now has teams in Brazil, United States, and Costa Rica. Since its inception in 2019, PowerFuel Damas has grown a network of over 1,600 people through a unique and innovative business model of two divisions: a global marketing agency and an international community to empower women.
Some of their leading accomplishments include:
· Winning first place in the “2021 Global Amazon Alexa Skills Challenge” for the creation of an application prototype to help rescue women from domestic violence.
· Establishing and securing multi-lingual marketing services for clients and content production in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
· First Stage Talk about “PowerFuel Damas Social Entrepreneurship” at Brazil’s most prestigious university and marketing institution, ESPM.
· Workshops for dozens of underserved youth to engage in STEAM programs, and empower them with skills for entry-level jobs and career paths in technology.
· Countless women empowering meet-ups and outreach throughout the community.
PowerFuel Damas directly supports the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 5 to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. For the celebration, the co-founders raised funds for G.R.A.C.E. by donating 30% of the sold-out event’s profits to help the local programs that empower, help and rescue at-risk youth.
“The PowerFuel Damas anniversary celebration was a great way to connect with passionate, driven individuals,” said Leah Watson, president of G.R.A.C.E. “I’m grateful our cause was not only financially supported, but we also had over 30 new volunteers sign up through the event, which will help us further our mission to support, empower, and provide services to trafficked, exploited and at-risk youth.”
The event also featured special guest speaker and business mogul Dr. Silvia Mah, who has been the Damas’ mentor and advisor since 2020.
“This organization is built on trust and relationships that are deeply rooted in equality, so post-pandemic, when women are feeling less connected, this was a perfect opportunity for PowerFuel Damas to scale, providing resources, network, and hope in a time of high volatility,” said Dr. Silvian Mah, chairwoman and founder of Stella Impact Capital, who has also secured $71 million in funding for women-led startups. “The dynamic duo of Danielle and Mayra have done this by implementing strategic plans, and executing marketing deliverables for increased brand awareness for companies who care about the triple bottom line, a sustainable framework scaling profit, people, and plant. PowerFuel Damas have found their stride in connecting impact, image and investments.”
As PowerFuel Damas looks to the future, plans are already in the works to release a global, digital university for entrepreneurs and leaders, online courses, and expand their already highly diverse international network, among other projects.
Sponsors and supporters of the event included Coco Maya by Ms. B’s in Little Italy as the official venue sponsor, which created the PowerFuel Damas signature Caipirinha, a delightful purple drink matching the Damas brand colors and celebrating their native country of Brazil. Refix was represented by FMR Brands’ marketing director Doriane Zalewski, who provided guests with their isotonic, healthy, organic, and sustainable recovery drinks made from alkaline seawater.
Women-led artists and entrepreneurs who were also showcasing their businesses at the event included:
· Brianna Benson, founder of ArteMoss Walls, curated a crafted and custom art piece for the event using primarily organic material, preserved moss, and crystals.
· Farinaz Foroughi and Avi Taheripour, co-founders of Bold & Brave Silk showcasing their 100% Mulberry Silk Products.
PowerFuel Damas is the first social enterprise for-profit that has a global marketing agency as its first division, followed by an international community to empower women as its second division. PowerFuel Damas specializes in B2B and B2C segments and identifies market trends and customer needs while developing highly-targeted and engaging marketing campaigns. To find out more about Powerfuel Damas, visit powerfueldamas.com.
