Media management duo bring financial literacy talks
The organisers of a financial literacy conference said they hope to give more Bermudians business acumen — and draw greater attention to the island.
The Lumina Festival will be the seat of a one-day Financial Literacy Summit on September 26 at The Shed in Dockyard.
The project was founded by Zach Wilson, who has worked with rapper Rick Ross, and Cameron Capers, whose portfolio includes work with superstar Beyoncé.
The pair said that the conference is part of a wider goal to build on and promote the island’s business sector.
Mr Capers, a US national, said: “I really feel Bermuda can be a huge platform for Black professionals.
“It’s too close to the US for people to not want to work here.”
Mr Wilson, a Bermuda native, said the idea of The Lumina Festival came to him after he returned to the island when he noted the economic landscape and wealth disparities.
He explained: “When my mom passed in 2023, that was when I first starting looking at Bermuda through adult eyes.
“I was here for an extended period of time for the first time in years and that’s when I started asking real questions about the wealth gap here and resources.”
Mr Wilson said that the problem was prominent among Black Bermudians and that he wanted the talk to be led by “panellists who look like us and identify with our story”.
He described himself as the “quarterback” of the event — someone who organised experts to speak.
Mr Wilson said he drew inspiration from Afrocentric industry talks in the US, where Black people discussed technology and investment.
He said: “Originally, I just wanted to do something in music, but really seeing the need for financial literacy, it just created a unique opportunity.”
Zach Wilson and Cameron Capers met at the music production studio Warner/Chappell when Mr Wilson was a music producer and Mr Capers was an intern.
Mr Wilson has worked with R&B artists Ella Mai and Rotimi, as well as Grammy Award-nominated rapper Rick Ross.
His work has earned him the Abe Oleman Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame and, he said, captured the interest of massive record labels such as Roc Nation, Sony/ATV and Warner Publishing.
Mr Capers worked at Sony Music and Packwood Entertainment, where he helped launch music projects for Beyoncé, such as her albums Lemonade and Everything is Love, which she made with her husband, billionaire music mogul Jay-Z.
Mr Capers is the cofounder of Black Wax, a talent management company with musicians who have garnered more than 10 billion streams and 16 Billboard Hott 100 entries between them.
The Lumina Festival: Financial Literacy Summit will feature Jibrial Muhammad, known professionally as 19Keys, as the keynote speaker for the event.
Mr Muhammad is a motivational speaker and strategist who specialises in artificial intelligence and business literacy, and focuses on assisting underrepresented communities.
Other speakers will include Neville Grant, the chief executive of the Bermuda Bankers Association, Shantel DeShields, the founder of the youth financial literacy company Pocket Change BDA, and Mandela Fubler, the CEO of Signature FX, a Bermudian-based trading company.
The summit is expected to offer advice to people of all levels of financial literacy.
It will cover money management and investment, as well as scenarios such as how to transition from a day job to entrepreneurship.
Mr Capers said that a common problem in the Black American community was a lack of financial communication between professionals and peers.
He said that he wanted to help keep up the conversation around financial literacy, adding: “Finances don’t have to be so close to the chest.”
Mr Capers said he wanted people to walk away from the conference with the information and connections necessary to improve their financial standing.
He added that he hopes to emphasise the importance of maintaining connections and drew on his own experiences from applying to university to working with celebrities.
Mr Capers said: “I worked hard to get to where I am now, but if I didn’t have this kind of access to opportunity or my uncle helping me, then I wouldn’t be where I am.”
Tickets for the event start at $150 and are available at luminafest.com and ptix.bm.
A VIP ticket includes access to a networking session from 5pm to 7pm on the day of the summit.
A private cultural showcase with live performances will follow on September 27.
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