Immigrant entrepreneurs honored for their economic, social and scientific contributions in Massachusetts
MALDEN, Mass, November 25, 2024 /Three Massachusetts-based immigrant entrepreneurs were honored during the 11th annual Barry M. Portnoy Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards Benefit on November 21, 2024, at the Royal Sonesta Boston. This year’s honorees were: Erdem Kaya, from Turkey, founder of VirtuE Jewelers Atelier in Newburyport; Mariana Matus, from Mexico, co-founder of Biobot Analytics in Cambridge; and Krenar Komoni, from Republic of Kosovo, founder of Tive, Inc. in Boston. After receiving their awards, the honorees participated in a panel discussion moderated by the Boston Business Journal Executive Editor Doug Banks.
Produced by Malden-based The Immigrant Learning Center (The ILC), this awards program is the only one of its kind to celebrate immigrant entrepreneurs in New England. It highlights the tremendous economic, social and scientific contributions immigrants from all backgrounds make to the commonwealth as entrepreneurs. The ILC Executive Director Vince Rivers explained, “We celebrate not only the honorees’ individual achievements but also the collective impact their companies have made on our communities and our economy. Each of our honorees has faced unique challenges, yet they have persevered, demonstrating resilience, creativity and an unwavering commitment to their visions. As we reflect on the journeys of these remarkable individuals, we are reminded of the rich tapestry of cultures, ideas and innovations that immigrants bring to our great state.”
About The Winners
Erdem Kaya, founder of VirtuE Jewelers Atelier in Newburyport
Country of origin: Turkey
Erdem Kaya five-minute video profile
Erdem Kaya is the founder of VirtuE Jewelers Atelier, where he designs and manufactures wearable works of art. After decades of honing his craft, Erdem took the risk of opening his own store in 2021. With a loyal customer base, both on the North Shore and worldwide, VirtuE has quickly grown into a successful business. In addition to his business success, Kaya was honored for his importance to the community. He is well known for helping anyone who asks. Whether it is supporting families affected by cancer, improving schools and hospitals, or helping his community in Turkey after an earthquake, Erdem has a natural inclination to help.
When The ILC Trustee Anne Walsh, a Newburyport resident and loyal customer and friend to Kaya, introduced him, she thanked him for choosing this country and her community. In turn, Kaya expressed his love for this country saying, “This is my home. Yes, I was born in Turkey. That’s my second home, but this is truly where I live now. I believe where you live, where you make your living, is where your true home is. That’s my dream come true from first grade.”
Mariana Matus, co-founder of Biobot Analytics in Cambridge.
Country of origin: Mexico
Mariana Matus five-minute video profile
Mariana Matus founded Biobot Analytics in 2017, based on research she conducted at MIT. It was her dream to apply her technical skills to improve public health, and she achieved it by being the first in the world to commercialize wastewater analysis as a source of actionable information for improving human health.
The company grew and innovated rapidly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, providing critical public health data that had previously not existed. Biobot continues to monitor for COVID-19 as well as an expanding number of other public health threats including influenza, RSV, monkeypox and high-risk substances such as opioids.
In addition to the United States and Mexico, Matus has lived in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Israel. Before coming here, she was pursuing her childhood dream of traveling and living in many different countries. That changed on her first introduction to the United States when she came for interviews at MIT nearly 30 years ago. She described, “My mind was blown by the culture, the talent, the people, the energy, and I said ‘this is where I want to be.’” Being in Boston has been a big advantage because, she said, “it’s like a hub for entrepreneurship.”
Krenar Komoni, founder of Tive, Inc. in Boston
Country of origin: Republic of Kosovo
Krenar Komoni five-minute video profile
Krenar Komoni is the founder and CEO of Tive, Inc., which has become the global leader in supply chain and logistics visibility technology. Tive provides real-time location and condition data, including temperature, humidity, light and shock, about products in transit worldwide to more than 850 global shippers, logistics service providers and retailers.
The real-time data Tive provides is used to make real-time decisions that can prevent waste for perishable products such as food and pharmaceuticals and improve security and anti-theft measures to ensure that shipments are delivered on time and in full. Tive’s Green Program further reduces waste by renewing and recirculating its trackers.
Komoni came from war-ravaged Kosovo to pursue a better education when he was in high school. When accepting the award he said, “I love America. There is no country that I know of, and I’ve been to many places, there is no country like the United States where you can come from nothing and really go from zero [to being successful].”
PHOTO CAPTION from left: The Immigrant Learning Center Executive Director Vince Rivers; Awardees Erdem Kaya, Mariana Matus and Krenar Komoni; Boston Business Journal Executive Editor Doug Banks; The Immigrant Learning Center Education Program Manager Ariana Moir.
About The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc.
The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. of Malden, MA, is a not-for-profit organization that gives immigrants a voice in three ways. The English Language Program provides free, year-round ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes to help immigrant and refugee adults in Greater Boston become successful workers, parents and community members. The Public Education Institute informs Americans about immigrants and immigration in the United States, and the Institute for Immigration Research, a joint venture with George Mason University, produces valid, reliable and objective multidisciplinary research on immigrants and immigration to the United States.