WVCC Touts Support for Growing Hispanic Business Community

Coming soon to the Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce: Conexión, a monthly networking mixer for enterprising Hispanic denizens.

The free event will take place in October and every month thereafter at 137 N. Wenatchee Ave., Ste. 101, in downtown Wenatchee.

In recent years, North Central Washington has experienced a flowering of Hispanic entrepreneurialism. Though it doesn't lack for talented, industrious people, the Hispanic business community is slightly atomized. This according to the Hispanic Business Council, whose stated mission is to "build trust & unify" through "advocacy, education and increased access to resources."

Similarly, with Conexión, the Chamber of Commerce hopes to foster a spirit of fraternity, of mutual support and cooperation.

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To that end, the Chamber and its partners will be sharing "valuable resources and benefits," according to a press release. Conexión is open to all Hispanic business owners and leaders in the Wenatchee Valley, offering a unique opportunity for networking, resource sharing and community-building."

In observance of Hispanic Heritage Month, Forbes last year published a piece hailing "Latino-owned business success." According to author Rohit Arora, "Nearly one in four new businesses in the U.S. today are Latin-owned, and they are major drivers of job-creation." Their annual contribution to the economy? $800 billion.

But glowing statistics can't mask cold, hard reality.

"Although the economic contributions of Latino businesses are extensive, they face limited access to capital," Arora writes. "One of the reasons is that minority-owned enterprises are more likely than their counterparts to show signs of financial vulnerability."

The Hispanic Business Council convenes on Thursday, Oct. 10, from noon to 1 p.m.

That evening is the inaugural Conexión event. The fun starts at 6:00 and wraps at 7:30. Click here to register.