By Kassidy Arena , Nebraska Public Media News
Lincoln,NE-The Lincoln Chamber of Commerce is launching a new program aiming to empower Hispanic and Latino entrepreneurs in the capital city.
Latino Connect will launch a series starting next year to build a stronger business community.
About 160 people from Lincoln’s business community attended an event for the announcement. Raul Sarmiento, a multicultural banking officer at Union Bank and Trust, worked with a team of seven business owners and three Latino leaders to advise the Chamber in how to better serve their communities. He said Spanish-speaking and Latino entrepreneurs don’t always have access to the same resources as English-speakers.
He wants this program to change that.
“I want the Latino community to be able to interact with each other as a safe space for them, to ask questions, to collaborate with each other and to help each other rise as a community,” Sarmiento said.
He gave special thanks to Chamber president Jason Ball and the rest of the Chamber for being open to his and his team’s recommendations and suggestions.
With the announcement of Latino Connect, the Chamber also rolled out a new tool in which attendees could download an app to hear the speakers in whichever language they prefer, which many found helpful since some speakers spoke solely in Spanish or solely in English.
“We’ll continue to figure out ways to make it possible for [Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs] to communicate, because both perspectives are great, and I think that there is a huge benefit for the community of Lincoln to hear both perspectives and to rise together,” Sarmiento added.
Each attendee wore a nametag with their name, business and preferred language at the Latino Connect announcement.
Karina Saavedra Mendez has a bilingual tax services business. Originally from Usulutan, El Salvador, she said this program will give people like her a stronger voice in the business community.
“We see that there are a lot of people undertaking this work and it is beautiful that we have a presence in the Chamber since we make up such a large community,” she said in Spanish. “We want to be heard more.”
[“Vemos que hay muchas personas que están emprendiendo y eso sería bonito que tengamos, seamos presencia en la Cámara de Comercio, ya que somos una comunidad muy grande…Queremos ser como más escuchados.”]
Bia Espinoza, the owner of a bakery and balloon business, sat at the same table with Saavedra Mendez. She moved to the U.S. from Mexico.
“We are very happy that finally, here in Lincoln, Nebraska, in the capital of the state, finally they are paying attention to our community,” Espinoza said in Spanish. “We are present, we have been working here for a long time, but we feel like we’ve been on the side. We seem to be more present now and taken into account.”
[“Estamos muy contentos de que al fin, ya en Lincoln, Nebraska, siendo la capital del estado, que al fin ya estén poniendo atención sobre nuestra comunidad, que estamos presentes. Hemos estado trabajando por mucho tiempo, pero se nos como que siento que hemos estado como a un lado y pues a lo que al parecer ahora vamos a estar como más presentes nos están tomando en cuenta.”]
According to a report from the Nebraska Commission on Latino-Americans, the number of Hispanic-owned businesses has grown 71% from 2012 to 2020.
Latino Connect will consist of a series of events and other programming that will go into effect next year. The Lincoln Chamber of Commerce added a Hispanic and Latino Business Committee to lead the new program.
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