Guyana-Born Founder Felicia J. Persaud Completes Intensive 12-Week Program While Building AI Capital Exchange – The World’s First AI-Powered Debt Capital Platform

Felicia J. Persaud, Founder & CEO, AI Capital Exchange | ICN Group

CARIBPR WIRE, NEW YORK, NY, May 1, 2026: Guyana-born Caribbean immigrant entrepreneur Felicia J. Persaud, founder of the newly launched AI Capital Exchange, has graduated with honors from the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center’s Milestone Circles program – a prestigious 12-week initiative designed to help U.S.-based founders build, scale, and lead with purpose.

Persaud was among 28 entrepreneurs in Cohort Group 32: Circles 513, 514 & 515, which ran from January through April 30, 2026. The program, now in its fifth year, has supported over 6,300 entrepreneurs through curated cohorts, expert mentorship, and milestone-driven growth. Since 2015, the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center has led the acceleration of resilient growth for under-resourced founders worldwide.

During the program, Persaud focused on refining her investor pitch deck for AI Capital Exchange- a platform she built over four months using artificial intelligence as a non-technical founder to solve the critical problem of global pre-qualification for debt financing and loans.

“This program pushed me into answering my why and my why remains solving the problem of lack of access to capital in emerging markets like the Caribbean and Latin America,” said Persaud. “I am now paying it forward by offering a free list of Caribbean accelerators now open for Caribbean entrepreneurs. Get the list at investcaribbeannow.com/caribbean-accelerators.”

About AI Capital Exchange

AI Capital Exchange is the world’s first AI-powered debt capital platform connecting institutional investors, lenders, investment agencies, and qualified borrowers globally. The platform is live and currently open to pre-qualifying deals, with whale filtering of over $200 million in deals to date. It serves as a bridge to the U.S. $5.7 trillion capital market.

Persaud is currently seeking to raise a seed round of a minimum USD $500,000 as the next step in the platform’s growth. The platform has also been accepted into the prestigious HICool competition following the India AI Challenge in January 2026.

About Felicia J. Persaud

Guyana-born and U.S.-based, Persaud is an award-winning journalist, columnist, entrepreneur, and advocate with more than two decades of experience building media, communications, and investment platforms at the intersection of the Caribbean diaspora and global markets. She immigrated to the United States from Guyana in 1996.

She is the founder and CEO of ICN Group – a portfolio of five specialized brands spanning media, PR, investment, and technology. Her portfolio includes NewsAmericasNow.com, CaribPR Wire, Hard Beat Communications, and Invest Caribbean.

Persaud is listed in the U.S. State Department Speakers Database as an expert on the Caribbean. Her expertise, especially her 12-year-old campaign for Caribbean American recognition by the US Census, has led to her being sought and quoted by AP, CNN, BBC, CBS, FOX News, the New York Times, Reuters, the Washington Post, CNBC, the Guardian, Forbes, ABC 7, Crain’s New York, Yahoo Finance, and the Brian Lehrer Show, among many others.

She holds a weekly immigration column in the New York Amsterdam News – one of America’s oldest African American newspapers – and is the founder of the Hard to Beat podcast.