WHO WE ARE
ESO Ventures is an initiative to grow community wealth and rebuild East Oakland through entrepreneurship.
We are a collaborative of entrepreneurs with deep roots in Oakland and business incubation, who have come together to support the development of an entrepreneurial pipeline along the Eastmont Corridor. This project has grown out of District 6 Council Member Loren Taylor and his partnership with California Community Colleges, specifically Merritt College and the Peralta Colleges Foundation, to create opportunities for the young people and residents of District 6 who want to start a business to have the resources they need to be successful.
Meet Martha Hernandez
Meet Ben Wanzo
Meet Councilman Taylor
Meet Pamela Ferran
The Team
Alfredo Mathew III
PartnerBen Wanzo
PartnerMartha Hernandez
PartnerTsehayu Bantidagne
Community ManagerWill Chapman
Marketing DirectorLaura Rambo
Marketing AssociateProgram Advisors
Xavier Nazario
Regional Director/Business & Entrepreneurship, BACCCLoren Taylor
City Councilmember - District 6Oakland City Council
Carrie Maultsby-Lute
Director and Professor, Mills CollegePamela Ferran
Senior Policy AdvisorOffice of the City Council
Marie Amboy
Dean of Allied Health & Public SafetyMerritt College
LaSonja Hill
Quality Education Consultants, LLCJason Holloway
Dean of BusinessMerritt College
Get Your Business Funded
Calling all East Oakland Entrepreneurs:​
We want to invest in YOU.
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By helping you build a successful business, you can be a part of redeveloping MacArthur Boulevard, and giving your neighbors a place to shop locally.
Cohort Participants Get:
***We will not use your ideas, disclose, or sell them to any third party source.***
Make a Donation
ESO Ventures is an initiative fiscally sponsored by the Peralta Colleges Foundation and managed by Working World LLC. To make a tax deductible donation please make your gift to the Peralta Colleges Foundation and reference ESO Ventures in the note.