Bernard, Archel
Head Bombchel in Charge, The Bombchel Factory
Archel Bernard is owner of The Bombchel Factory and Mango Rags boutique in Monrovia, Liberia. She moved to the West African country after graduating from Georgia Tech in Atlanta. She now specializes in dreaming up contemporary African womenswear, empowering disadvantaged women to sew her designs, and helping all the women she meets to become self-sufficient.
Archel’s mission in life took a significant run amid the deadly Ebola outbreak in Liberia. She saw the devastation in the country she loved; a country still struggling to overcome civil war. Archel decided to open a factory to help the people of her ancestral homeland to rebuild and change the topic of Liberia. She named it The Bombchel Factory and herself, the Head Bombchel in Charge.
She has been featured in The New York Times, CNN, Forbes Women Africa and other major news outlets. She is also a Richard Branson Scholar. Her designs have been worn by actresses in the online drama “An African City” and models in several international magazines. Archel’s successful Kickstarter campaign almost doubled its goal! She is a force. A visionary. A fashionista. But more than anything, Archel is a savvy and excited business woman, determined to use her business to build lives.