How Latino Small Business Owners Are Boosting The US Economy
As we honor National Hispanic Heritage Month, we must also celebrate the impact Hispanic entrepreneurs have had on our nation’s economy. According to the US Small Business Administration (SBA), citing the Joint Economic Committee Hispanic Entrepreneurship and Business Brief, there are over five million Hispanic-owned businesses located across the country. These MBEs contribute more than $800 billion to the American economy annually and employ nearly one million people.
Economic Recovery
Time recently noted that, “Barriers to entry, such as language and a lack of access to established infrastructure, have historically been high for Latino entrepreneurs. Those challenges were exacerbated when COVID-19 struck, shuttering many of the businesses most commonly run by Latinos, such as restaurants, cleaning services and retail shops, forcing owners and workers to dip into their often meager savings.” Time further stated that, while “Latino Entrepreneurs were among the hardest hit by the pandemic,” they also are playing a huge role in our economic recovery.
The Fastest-Growing MBEs
Months before the pandemic gripped headlines in 2020, USA Today reported that, “Despite the opportunity gap between Latinos and other Americans, Latinos have become the fastest-growing small business owners across the US.” This still holds true in 2022. Currently, nearly one in four new businesses in the US is Hispanic-owned, according to the SBA. Abasto, a print and digital trade publication that caters to the Hispanic food and beverage industry in the US, states that, “Latinos have become an economic force in the United States.” Citing the results of a recent study by Stanford Graduate School of Business, “These Hispanic entrepreneurs are starting small businesses faster than the rest of the emerging population and are becoming a larger share of the total U.S. market every day.”
Filling A Critical Role
Data from the current Census shows that Hispanic Americans play a critical role in the US economy, filling workforce gaps in vital industries such as agriculture, hospitality, construction, and healthcare. According to The New American Economy, Latino households earned more than $1.2 trillion and paid $308.5 billion in taxes in recent years. Salud-America states that, “To put it in perspective, if Latinos living in the United States were an independent country, the US Latino GDP would be tied with France for the seventh-largest GDP in the world.” A lack of generational wealth and difficulties in securing financing for Latino MBEs make these statistics all the more powerful. JP Morgan Chase & Co. adds that, “If Latino owned businesses could grow as fast as the U.S. average, they could add $1.4 trillion to the U.S. economy.”
Greater Support Benefits Everyone
A 2022 episode of The McKinsey Podcast explains how greater support for Latino business owners, workers, consumers, and investors could create economic opportunities, not just for one demographic, but for the whole country. As one of 23 regional councils across the country with more than 1,500+ corporate members nationally, EMSDC supports and certifies minority-owned businesses (Hispanic, Asian, Black, and Native American) throughout Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and Delaware, connecting them with member corporations to initiate growth and opportunity through Supplier Diversity channels. In fact, we are the largest national organization whose certification is uniformly recognized by Corporate America. To learn more, visit our website. The US Department of Commerce also offers resources for Hispanic Entrepreneurs and MBEs. To access this valuable information, click here.
The Eastern Minority Supplier Development Council (EMSDC), a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, is an affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC). We certify and connect minority-owned businesses (Asian, Black, Hispanic, and Native American) throughout Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and Delaware with member corporations that want to purchase their products, services and solutions. Our mission is to stimulate and support the economic development of minority-owned businesses and to better align them with corporations in an effort to initiate growth and opportunity through Supplier Diversity channels.