INTRODUCTION

2023 Fuerza Entrepreneurship Week is a week-long educational series and workshops featuring local and national Latino/a/e and Chicano/a/e Entrepreneurs, Educators, and Mentors in the greater Kansas City metro area. Its goal is to empower and strengthen the Latino/a/e Chicano/a/e presence in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Participants will learn essential skills for building, growing, and sustaining businesses. This event is a collaboration between the Latinx Education Collaborative and the Latino Arts Foundation, celebrating and highlighting the experiences of Latino and Chicano entrepreneurs in the greater Kansas City Metro area. Fuerza Entrepreneurship Week will take place from Monday, October 23 to Thursday, October 26, 2023, at various locations across the Kansas City metro, with the aim of promoting diversity and inclusion in the business world.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Monday, October 23, 2023 

• • 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM | Coffee MeetUP Barrio+Comunidad Kickoff Event at Cafe Corazon Sponsored Welcoming KC

    • As a Latinx/Chicanx entrepreneur, your coffee is on us!

  • 12:00 PM to 12:45 PM I Emerging Latino/a/e Chicano/a/e Leaders Panel Discussion; Hosted by Edgar Palacios

    • • • Victoria Roja

        • Christopher Erazo

        • Vince Medellin

  • 1:00 PM to 1:45 PM I Digital Equity 

Tuesday, October 24, 2023 

• • 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM | Arts & Entrepreneurship Panel: Creative Conversations with Ideation Experts; Moderator Ivan Ramirez

    • • • Phyllis Hernandez

        • Leslie Barraza

        • Alexandro Garcia

        • Maria Izquierdo Garcia 

        • Dulcinea Herrera

  • 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM | Panel: Pulling Back the Curtains: Building a Latinx/Chicanx Entrepreneurial Ecosystem; Moderator Michael Carmona

    • • • CiCi Rojas

        • Veronica Alvidrez

        • Edgar Galicia

  • 2:00 PM - 2:45 PM I Art as Mentorship - Enrique Chi 

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

• • Hike with Ivan Podcast: Future Trends in Entrepreneurship - Host Ivan Ramirez; Streaming on Latinx Education Collaborative YouTube & Spotify

    • • • Flor Cruz Longoria

        • Daniel Soriano

        • Adriana Suarez

  • 11:00 AM to 11:45 AM | Erik Erazo | Leadership Lessons Learned from the Lowrider Community

  • 12:00 PM to 12:45 PM | Gabriela Inguez | Successful Start-ups

  • 1:00 PM to 1:45 PM | Veronica Chavez | Solutions for Solo Entrepreneurs

  • 2:00 PM to 2:45 PM | ParaMi | ¡No Soy Tu ChaCha! Taking Up Space in Unfriendly Environments

  • 3:00 PM to 3:45 PM | WAYWO | WAYWO Wednesday Special Edition

Thursday, October 26, 2023

• • All Day Latino Entreprenuer Biz Care Event I City Hall, Kansas City MO hosted by Biz Care

  • 10:00 AM to 10:45 PM | Marisa Gonzales | Website Design: Increase your reach and considerations for accessibility

  • 11:00 AM to 11:45 AM | Edgar Galicia | CABA Wisdom

  • 12:00 PM to 12:45 PM | Gabe Munoz | Essential Steps to Start Your Negocio

  • 1:00 PM to 1:45 PM | Flor Cruz | Decolonizing Your Business Practices

  • 3:00 PM to 3:45 PM I Dominique Hall I Makeup to Mindset

LATINO ENTREPRENEURSHIP FACTS

Based on data from the Stanford Graduate School of Business 2020 State of Latino Entrepreneurship Report

Approval Rates for Business Loans

• 20% of Latino-owned businesses received loans over $100,000 from national banks.

• 50% of White-owned businesses received loans of similar size from national banks.

• For firms with annual revenues over $1 million seeking similar loans, 29% of Latino-owned businesses were approved compared to 76% of White-owned businesses.

Loan Approval Odds

• Even after controlling for business performance measures, the odds of loan approval from national banks were 60% lower for Latino-owned businesses.

Business Profiles

• About three-quarters of both Latino and White-owned businesses had broken even or been profitable in the last 12 months.

• Latino-owned businesses were, on average, 10 years old, while White-owned businesses were, on average, 14 years old.

Impact of the Pandemic

• 30% of Latina-led companies closed during the pandemic, along with 16% of Latino-led businesses.

• Layoffs were higher among Latina-led companies.

Growth of Latino-Owned Businesses

• There are about 400,000 Latino-owned employer businesses in the U.S.

• Before the pandemic, they generated nearly $500 billion in annual revenue and employed 3.4 million people.

• The number of Latino-owned employer businesses grew 14% from 2012 to 2017, over twice the U.S. average.

• Latino-owned businesses' revenues are growing at a faster rate than those of White-owned businesses.