Honoring Hispanic Heritage Month 2022

As ICIC joins in the 54th year of celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month, we honor the vision and strength of all Latinx small business owners. Our mission, to drive inclusive economic prosperity in under-resourced communities in the United States and Canada, has led to us increasing our Latinx participation in our programs from 12% prior to 2020 to 14% in 2021, but we still have a long way to go. Our programs continue to serve as excellent resources to Latinx and Hispanic business owners and are made stronger when local, state, and federal policies align to impact small businesses positively. Below, we highlight a few of the Latinx and Hispanic policymakers giving voice to the needs of small business owners in the Latinx community.

Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman
Small Business Administration (SBA)
Under Guzman’s leadership, the SBA focuses on ensuring the smallest of small businesses have access to relief programs and small-dollar loans with an emphasis on support for small businesses owned by women, people of color, and veterans, and in rural and low-income communities. Administrator Guzman is the keynote speaker at the 2022 ICIC Annual Conference, held virtually and presented in English, Spanish, and French, on December 6 and 8!

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto
D – Nevada 
Senator Cortez Masto advocates for small businesses, especially within the franchise sector. She has pushed for increased transparency and oversight for franchise owners.
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Senator Ben Ray Luján
D – New Mexico 
Senator Luján was a part of a team that introduced the Minority Business Resiliency Act of 2021.
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Senator Bob Menendez
D – New Jersey 
In 2021, Senator Menendez introduced the Small Business Lending Disclosure Act designed to protect small business borrowers from predatory lenders.
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THE 2022 ICIC ANNUAL CONFERENCE IS #ABIERTOPARANEGOCIOS
DECEMBER 6 & 8

Register today to join us for the 2022 ICIC Annual Conference: “Abierto para Negocios”/”Open for Business”, December 6 and 8, 2022. The conference is virtual and presented in Spanish, English, and French.

Latinx small business owners from across the country are invited to apply for the 2022 Latinx cohort of the Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) program – a tuition-free, 40-hour “mini-MBA” program that combines executive education, webinars, and coaching delivered by top-ranking university professors and business experts. This cohort is the first hosted entirely in Spanish and taught by culturally competent professors, coaches, and facilitators. It will address the unique experience and challenges faced by Latinx business owners. The Latinx cohort begins Tuesday, October 25, and Thursday, October 27. Interested business owners can apply in Spanish or English.

ICIC offers its support to small business owners and its program alumni in Puerto Rico who are still recovering from Hurricane Maria five years ago and are now dealing with the effects of Hurricane Fiona. Through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, ICIC has a variety of Puerto Rico alumni working despite all odds to strengthen their businesses locally and on the U.S. mainland. In addition to supporting ongoing recovery efforts, ICIC will be in-person at the Minority Enterprise Development Week 2022 on October 13.