Nerma Albertorio

Founder, Centro para Emprendedores
Education: Master in Nonprofit Management, Universidad del Sagrado Corazón. Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus.
City of Residence: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Nerma Albertorio Barnés is a Puerto Rican-born and raised entrepreneur and an active community leader in the entrepreneurial ecosystem on the island. She believes that through entrepreneurship, you can empower people to change and move out of cycles of poverty.

One of her most significant accomplishments was the creation of Centro para Emprendedores (Center for Entrepreneurs) in 2012. Since then, she has been able to impact over six thousand people, help establish over 100 small businesses and startups, and design and successfully implement entrepreneurship educational programs. More recently, after the hit of Hurricanes Irma and María and the Pandemic, her work was crucial in defining how to support small businesses during a crisis after natural disasters.

During her career, she has helped raise over 15M in capital for startups and small business owners. Because of her contributions, Nerma was recognized as Mentor of the Year in 2015 and Puerto Rico Entrepreneurship Pillar in 2018; she is a Cordes Foundation Fellow and an Aspen Fellow. Also, Nerma co-founded 100 Ventures, a private firm that provides support services to startups and small businesses. Recently she joined Project Makers, the first private social impact fund in Puerto Rico, as Managing Director.

Nerma is passionate about entrepreneurship because she believes it can transform lives. Entrepreneurship is a tool that lets a person overcome their circumstances and become prosperous (this does not only include financial success). It is a way for a person to live the life they want. She thinks it is the most powerful tool you can give a person.

She loves to listen to people’s stories, teach, listen to music, arts, and movies, and spend time with her son.