HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF LOUISIANA
THE CHAMBER’S GUIDING LIGHT The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana rises to the challenge of uplifting and supporting marginalized business owners. By Misty Milioto
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hen Mayra Pineda took on the role of President and CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana (HCCL) in 2014, she did so with the mission of paving pathways to success for underserved communities. “It is important to me to serve as the president of HCCL because the Hispanic community does not have the same ability to access resources and create generational wealth that other communities do,” she says. “We are a disproportionately impacted community, something that has only been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.” In fact, several studies from 2020 indicate that Hispanic/Latino individuals were unemployed at a higher rate during the pandemic in comparison to their white counterparts. “The Economic Policy Institute details this further in a 2020 3rd and 4th Quarter study, noting the overall unemployment rate for Hispanic Workers was high compared with white workers,” Pineda says. “Furthermore, Hispanic workers faced unemployment greater than 10 percent in eight out of the 18 states with available data. This study is a clear representation of the disproportionate impact felt by the Hispanic community, particularly with unemployment.” Ramiro Cavazos, president and CEO of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC), says Latinos were disproportionately affected in the five hardest-hit sectors during the pandemic: leisure/hospitality, retail, transportation, construction and general professional. “Hispanic businesses have been disproportionately hurt by the pandemic, and the stimulus packages have fallen short of addressing the needs of these businesses,” he says. “The Hispanic community lost about 25 percent in revenue during the pandemic, according to a recent McKinsey & Company Report.” With so many factors affecting the Hispanic workforce and business community, the work of HCCL—and in turn, the national USHCC— 8
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana 2021
became even more critical to ensuring that minority-owned businesses not only made it through the pandemic, but that they were also able to rebound and revitalize their operations.
On a Mission Like all such chambers of commerce, the USHCC serves to promote the economic growth, development and interests of a particular community—in this case, more than 4.7 million Hispanic-owned businesses that contribute more than $800 billion to the American economy every year. Advocating on behalf of a national network of more than 250 local Hispanic chambers, the USHCC focuses on three main areas: access to capital, building capacity and helping Hispanic business enterprises make the connections they need to secure procurement contracts and new growth opportunities. The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana shares that same goal—to foster the continued economic growth, development and promotion of Hispanic businesses and their associations—on a more regional scale, directly applying its efforts to the State of Louisiana. HCCL is the conduit between the Hispanic business community and the community at large, and one thing the
pandemic has unequivocally shown is that community connections are fundamental to a business’s prosperity. However, minority populations, especially those who do not speak English, continue to face more obstacles than their Englishspeaking counterparts, and thus, their access to community networking and resources is more limited and can be detrimental to starting or maintaining a successful business. “The barriers that hinder the growth of Hispanic businesses and prevent access to opportunities must be erased to truly bring economic development to the areas and allow for the creation of wealth,” says Pineda. “We at HCCL are committed to advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion as the foundation of this growth throughout the State of Louisiana.” The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated language disparities in the Hispanic community, due to a lack of Spanish-language materials and information regarding the pandemic, government aid and business resources. Pineds says that as soon as the HCCL observed this particular challenge, they sprang into action. “We consistently updated our community with the latest information, in both English and Spanish,” Pineda says. “Furthermore,
