Opportunity Changes Everything: Building Markets Rings the Nasdaq Closing Bell
Opportunity Changes Everything: Building Markets Rings the Nasdaq Closing Bell
July 24, 2026 | Jacob Feinberg
On July 24, Building Markets had the extraordinary honor of ringing the Nasdaq Closing Bell. Elizabeth Brown, Executive Director, and Maria Carolina Duran, Director for Latin America, rang the bell and were joined by Building Markets staff, board, and supporters for the occasion.
For most organizations, ringing the bell is a celebration of corporate achievement. For us, it was something more. This was a celebration of small business leaders around the world and to remind a global audience of a simple truth:
Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not.
For more than twenty years, Building Markets has worked to change that. We identify entrepreneurs who have been overlooked, equip them with the tools and connections they need to compete, and open doors to new markets so their businesses can grow. Today, those efforts have helped small businesses create more than 78,000 full-time jobs for women, refugees, and other vulnerable groups around the world.
We were honored to be welcomed to the Nasdaq MarketSite by Jailan Griffiths, President of the Nasdaq Foundation and Global Head of Purpose, who recognized Building Markets' longstanding work expanding economic opportunity and highlighted the impact of our SER (Resilient Entrepreneurial Women) program in Colombia, supported by the Nasdaq Foundation.
During the ceremony, Elizabeth Brown reflected that this work has never been more urgent.
"Every day, extraordinary small business leaders are innovating in the face of difficult circumstances. We find businesses who have been overlooked. We equip them with the tools and connections they need to compete. And we open doors to markets that once felt out of reach."
Maria Carolina Durán then brought that mission to life through the story of Vanessa, an entrepreneur from Putumayo, Colombia.
When Carolina first met Vanessa, she was carrying her products for twelve hours because conflict made it too dangerous to sell in her own community. Through the SER program, Vanessa strengthened her supply chain, obtained FDA approval, expanded into markets across Colombia, and is now beginning to export internationally. Today, her company employs ethnic minorities, young people, and single mothers, creating opportunity that extends far beyond a single business.
Her story is a powerful reminder that opportunity changes everything.
The Closing Bell also marked the official launch of Opportunity Changes Everything, Building Markets' new campaign to raise $500,000 to expand economic opportunity for entrepreneurs who have the talent and ambition to succeed but lack access to buyers, financing, networks, and markets.
Every entrepreneur deserves the chance to compete on the strength of their ideas, not the circumstances into which they were born.
As we looked out over Times Square, we were celebrating the beginning of a new chapter for the organization and inviting more people and partners to join us in opening doors for entrepreneurs around the world.
To everyone who celebrated with us, tuned into the livestream, donated, shared our campaign, or has supported Building Markets over the past two decades: thank you.
This bell was rung in honor of every entrepreneur who refuses to give up, every small business creating jobs in the face of adversity, and every person who believes that when opportunity reaches one entrepreneur, it transforms families, communities, and economies.
Because talent is everywhere.
Now it's time to make opportunity everywhere, too. We hope you will join us.
