Survey Initiative is Part of Univision Contigo’s Expanded Entrepreneurial Empowerment Program for 2015
NEW YORK and STANFORD, CA – JANUARY 22, 2015 – Univision Communications Inc. (UCI), the leading media company serving Hispanic America, today announced it is collaborating with Stanford University’s Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative (SLEI) to conduct the first-ever, comprehensive survey of Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States which will improve our understanding of this vibrant economic force and help identify areas for development and growth.
According to SLEI research, there are over four million Latino-owned businesses in the U.S. of which most are small sole-proprietor and/or family-owned businesses with substantial opportunity to grow. Latino businesses are growing at more than twice the rate of all U.S. firms, marking a 43 percent growth since 2007, according to a 2014 Geoscape Study on Hispanic Business & Entrepreneurs. Additionally, Hispanics are two times more likely to start a small business than non-Hispanics, and their businesses contribute nearly $500 billion in revenue to the national economy, and growing. The survey initiative seeks to leverage the existing Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Database, which includes the names of over 1.4 million Latino business owners, to determine what factors would help fuel business growth and foster new and ultimately more productive Latino-owned businesses. Business owners can participate in the survey, in English or Spanish, via this link.
“As a mission-driven Company, dedicated to informing, entertaining, empowering and advocating for the Hispanic America, we will be expanding our support of Hispanic business owners in 2015,” said UCI Executive Vice President for Human Resources & Community Empowerment, Roberto Llamas. “We cannot think of a better way to kick off our expansion than by teaming up with Stanford, one of the premier academic institutions in the world, to support and promote their research and then to respond to its findings.”
“We want to transcend common beliefs and build fact based insights on Latino owned businesses and their growth, and there is no better partner than Univision, a mission driven Company with a 50-plus year relationship with Hispanics in the U.S. We believe that Latino wealth generation is a potent factor in positive social change. Latino owned businesses and their growth will have a huge impact on the future economic vitality of the United States,” states Dr. Jerry I. Porras, Lane Professor of Organization Behavior and Change Emeritus, Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Going forward, and as part of Univision Contigo, the Company’s empowerment platform, Univision will expand on existing support to small business owners through various programs which will incorporate insights gleaned from the Stanford survey. Planned activities include “Prosperidad” Fairs in Los Angeles, Miami, and other key markets, which will include small business ‘boot camps’ to increase the readiness and chances of success for aspiring entrepreneurs. Additionally, Univision Local Media stations across the country will profile local small business owners and their stories of success and overcoming obstacles in business. And finally, national public service announcements will air across Univision Networks in March 2015 promoting resources for Latino entrepreneurs to help them start, grow and strengthen their small businesses. Univision News will develop a digital platform to tell the stories of Hispanic entrepreneurs and its nightly news program (Noticiero: Edicion Nocturna) will air regular segments highlighting entrepreneurial success stories through its “Sueño Americano” (American Dream) series. Univision’s Enterprise Development group will enhance its suite of financial empowerment tools and introduce more products to enhance credit and loan facilitation.
Univision Contigo builds on UCI’s more than 50 years of service and engagement with the Hispanic community. The comprehensive initiative, created in conjunction with some of the country’s leading experts, organizations and foundations, strategically focuses on the areas of most importance for the Hispanic community and then provides access to a range of valuable resources and tools that will enable Latino families to set real-life goals, and immediately take the necessary steps to put those plans into action. Univision Contigo focuses on four pillars: Education, Health, Prosperity and Civic Participation. For more information, please visit univision.com/prosperidad or UnivisionContigo.com.
CONTACTS:
Tiq Chapa, Stanford University’s Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative (SLEI), 650.498.2116, tiqchapa@stanford.edu
Rosemary Mercedes, Univision Communications Inc., 212.455.5335, rmercedes@univision.net
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