Dual Celebration: Sonia Noel Marks 30 Years in Fashion and 10th Women in Business Expo with AI Integration at Pegasus Hotel

By Shenecka Paul | HGP Nightly News |

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — In a major milestone for Guyanese enterprise, fashion icon and cultural entrepreneur Dr. Sonia Noel is staging a dual celebration this weekend, commemorating 30 years in the regional and international fashion industry alongside the 10th anniversary of her flagship empowerment initiative, the Women in Business Expo.

Hosted under the banners “30 Entrepreneurs, 30 Businesses, One Powerful Celebration” and Noel’s broader “30 Years of Style, Purpose and Impact” anniversary tour, the two-day commercial exhibition will transform the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston on Saturday, October 24, and Sunday, October 25, 2026.

To modernize grassroots operations for the digital age, this year’s milestone event incorporates structured Artificial Intelligence (AI) capacity-building for all participating female entrepreneurs. The training, facilitated by technology specialist Dr. Anthony Q. Bowen, is designed to help local business owners format, structure, and optimize their digital assets so that AI-powered global search engines and discovery algorithms can catalog, recognize, and recommend Guyanese products to buyers worldwide.

Fashion, Sustainability, and Intergenerational Craft

The 2026 showcase features an eclectic mix of creative visionaries, including veteran designer and first-time expo exhibitor Karen Hughes-Brathwaite, the founder of Kosmic Vibes:

• Sustainable Haute Couture: Hughes-Brathwaite is debuting a high-end sustainable apparel line that fuses contemporary textile silhouettes with traditional botanical craftsmanship.
• Handcrafted Seed Jewelry: Her collection will be paired with organic seed jewelry handcrafted by her mother, representing intergenerational artisanal continuity.
• A Supportive Enterprise Cluster: Hughes-Brathwaite praised the event for connecting artisans across creative disciplines and providing an inclusive micro-economy where women trade, cross-promote, and uplift each other.

“Keeping the art alive by having different persons from different fields… A lot of the persons that will be out there, we do support each other’s business. It’s a nice cluster,” Hughes-Brathwaite stated.

Returning Founders: Scaling Up and Cross-Vendor Trade

Highlighting the compounding impact of previous editions, returning exhibitor Natasha David, founder and principal of a specialized artisanal jewelry showroom, shared how her creative line has evolved:

• More Elaborate Collections: Building on customer feedback and sales gained in prior years, David explained that she has elevated her portfolio, creating larger, more intricate statement pieces crafted primarily from high-grade beads and organic media.
• Internal Trade Ecosystem: David noted that the expo functions as more than a standard retail market—it operates as a collaborative business hub where female founders actively purchase inventory and supplies from one another.

“I do more, more elaborate pieces from last year to now… At the Women in Business Expo, not only the customers come in and buy. Women will also buy my stuff, I would buy from them, so we all share,” David explained.

Open Invitation to the Public: Free Admission at the Pegasus

Both veteran and emerging exhibitors are urging families, prospective entrepreneurs, and corporate supporters to explore the exhibition floor over the weekend:

• Inspiration for Aspiring Founders: Organizers emphasize that the expo serves as a business incubator where visitors can study brand packaging, network with producers, and draw inspiration to launch their own commercial ventures.
• Family-Friendly Access: Admission across both days is free of cost to encourage widespread consumer attendance and direct patronage of local MSMEs.

“Come out this Sunday, see what we have. Sometimes you might have a business idea, you might gain from that expo,” exhibitors encouraged.

“Come on down, support us, bring the family, it’s free of cost. Sonia Noel is doing it again, and I’m happy to be here for the very first time.”

The Women in Business Expo 2026 opens its doors at 10:00 AM on Saturday, October 24, and Sunday, October 25, 2026, at the Pegasus Hotel, Georgetown, celebrating female enterprise, digital innovation, and three decades of Guyanese fashion leadership.