The mission of the USHCC is to ensure the success of all Hispanic small businesses and contribute to improving the American economy as a whole.
Ramiro Cavazos
President and CEO, United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
For 43 years, the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC), the nation’s largest Hispanic business organization, has sought to provide unequivocal support and resources towards the successful growth of Hispanic business enterprises. By prioritizing the progress and expansion of these minority-run small businesses, who make up a fundamental part of the nation, all facets of the American economy can continue to develop with prosperity.
Making up 19% of America’s labor force, Hispanics are highly represented in a number of different industries and form a vital part of America’s economic ecosystem. As they are known to start businesses at three times the rate of the general population, Hispanics remain distinctly unmatched in entrepreneurial spirit. Currently, the 5 million Hispanic-owned businesses throughout the country contribute $2.9 trillion dollars into the American economy every year, making the U.S. Hispanic population is the fifth largest economy in the world, if they were a stand-alone nation.
However, their potential to grow as businesses and leaders, bringing even further economic advancements to the country, is persistently at risk due to a series of barriers faced by minority-run small businesses. Particularly challenging for Hispanic business enterprises is the ability to access capital, a crucial aspect of expanding as a business. In a recent study by the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, Latino and Black-owned businesses were less than half as likely as white-owned firms to be fully approved for loan applications. Excluded from this traditional route of funding, Hispanic small businesses may instead engage in potentially risky practices to finance their business or even be forced to cease operations. In order to close this opportunity gap, the USHCC is actively present as an institution in connecting Hispanic small businesses to new ways of accessing capital, technical assistance, contracts, and resources otherwise unavailable to their growth trajectory.
Renewed efforts
Through USHCC’s national network of more than 260 local chambers of commerce and business associations nationwide, as well as partnerships with hundreds of major corporations, Hispanic small businesses may establish influential connections on both a local and national level, elevating their operations. To support Hispanic business enterprises, the USHCC offers programs to companies looking to build more capital, capacity, and connections.
The USHCC’s advocacy for Hispanic small businesses continues in Congress, most recently championing key policies changes after COVID, including the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, and the State Small Business Credit Initiative, among a series of other accomplishments.
As the country continues to recover from the pandemic and enters a potentially deeper period of financial uncertainty, the USHCC reaffirms its efforts to invest in and advocate for Hispanic businesses enterprises across the nation, pledging forth its belief that a thriving Hispanic business community is the surest way to increase the health of the American economy for all.
