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Boost for Hispanic Business First Data will fund $800,000 pilot plan to aid entrepreneurs
The project, to be formally announced Friday at the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's annual conference and expo, will be paid for out of a $10 million "empowerment fund" launched in March by First Data and its subsidiary Western Union. First Data spokeswoman Danielle Jimenez said the center will provide a business-information clearinghouse to help Hispanics access markets, secure capital and get management training. The project will include an Internet database and a walk-in location staffed by business counselors."We want future Hispanic business owners to be empowered economically and to equip them with the right advice and right tools to make sound business decisions," Jimenez said. The center will be temporarily housed at the Bernie Valdez Hispanic Heritage Center at West Colfax Avenue and Speer Boulevard in downtown Denver. First Data is working with the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Sal Gomez, chairman of the board of the Denver Hispanic Chamber, said the project grew out of conversations between Hispanic leaders and First Data Chief Executive Charlie Fote. "This will have a tremendous impact not only on the Colorado Hispanic community" but on Hispanics nationwide, Gomez said, noting that the Denver project, if successful, could be extended nationally. Said Fote in a statement: "While this particular initiative focuses on the Hispanic community, it's important to note that it's not about ethnicity or skin color. This initiative is about green - money - and empowering people to improve their lives and our economy." The number of Hispanic-owned businesses in Colorado has doubled from 14,000 to 28,000 over the past decade, with about 45 percent of the businesses in the service industry, according to the 2002 Colorado Hispanic Business Report. The pilot program also has the support of the Denver Mayor's Office of Economic Development, the state Office of Economic Development and International Trade and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. First Data also announced the appointment of Gomez; Raul Yzaguirre, president of the National Council of La Raza; and Robert de Posada, president of the Hispanic Coalition, to its empowerment-fund advisory board. The board is directed by Fred Niehaus, First Data senior vice president of public affairs. First Data launched the $10 million empowerment fund in Washington, D.C., this spring with a panel on immigration reform. Other panels are scheduled for Los Angeles and Chicago. "We want to make sure the voices of immigrants are heard," Jimenez said. The new empowerment fund is separate and in addition to charitable donations totaling about $5.5 million that First Data made as part of settlements of class-action lawsuits. The lawsuits claimed Western Union failed to disclose the commissions it charged when wiring customers' money to Mexico, and that the exchange rate used in the transactions was less favorable than the rate Western Union received on the open market. About the project • What is it? A pilot program to provide a business information clearinghouse to help Hispanics access markets, secure capital and get management training • Where: The center will be temporarily housed at the Bernie Valdez Hispanic Heritage Center at Colfax Avenue and Speer Boulevard in downtown Denver. • Sponsor: First Data Corp. will pay for the program out of its "empowerment fund." • More information: Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, www.dhcc.com
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