Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation<\/a> are working to provide entrepreneurs with resources to start, develop and formalize their businesses.<\/p>\nFounded in 2001 by local business owners, the nonprofit addresses the needs of the region\u2019s growing Hispanic business community.<\/p>\n
Its core services and programs include business incubation, financial assistance, bilingual support, community events and workshops.<\/p>\n
The foundation also offers Latinapreneur\/Womanpreneur programs designed to help women entrepreneurs create strategic business plans and incorporate digital platforms into their day-to-day operations to expand their online presence and sales.<\/p>\n
\u2018Majority within the minority\u2019<\/p>\n
Nationally, Hispanics are expected to make up nearly 27% of the U.S. population by 2060, according to the WalletHub study. The study also reports that nearly one in four new businesses is Hispanic-owned.<\/p>\n
Dora Westerlund, CEO of the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation, said there is a significant number of Hispanic-owned businesses in the Fresno area and described the Hispanic community as a \u201cmajority within the minority.\u201d<\/p>\n
Westerlund said access to resources, education and funding can help entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they are given the opportunities and the right tools and resources, they just thrive because they are resilient and willing to work really hard,\u201d Westerlund said. \u201cEconomically, they are becoming self-sufficient and are providing generational wealth for their families and children. They are sending their kids to get educated and get better opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is a \u201cwin-win situation,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Latina-owned growth<\/p>\n
Westerlund said Latina-owned businesses have been on the rise, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Nationally, Hispanic and Latina women-owned employer firms increased 37.2% between 2022 and 2025, according to the Wells Fargo Impact of Women-Owned Businesses Report.<\/p>\n
Westerlund said there are relatively few organizations like FAHF offering programs and funding specifically designed for women and Latina entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes a huge difference when you have a place where an ecosystem is in place to assist small businesses and Latino-owned businesses,\u201d Westerlund said.<\/p>\n
Path to financial security<\/p>\n
Westerlund said many Hispanic and Latino workers in agriculture and other industries view business ownership as a path toward greater financial security and independence.<\/p>\n
In construction, she said, Hispanic and Latino workers \u2014 including women \u2014 are pursuing contractor licenses, permits and bonds that allow them to operate their own businesses.<\/p>\n
She also sees entrepreneurs who have been working independently but have not formally established their businesses increasingly taking that step.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have seen more people formalizing their business. They want their businesses to be able to go to their kids and to their families and backed by formalization. I\u2019ve seen it happening for some time and it\u2019s going to continue to grow,\u201d Westerlund said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two customers order from the King Elotero Man food truck during the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation\u2019s Mobile Food…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":465372,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[110854,512,183251,15556,2333,8610,112,108493,114,113,183252,183253,183254,172349,183255,4823,9460,43660],"class_list":["post-465371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-business-development","tag-central-valley","tag-dora-westerlund","tag-economic-development","tag-editors-picks","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-area-hispanic-foundation","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news","tag-hispanic-entrepreneurs","tag-hispanic-owned-businesses","tag-latina-owned-businesses","tag-latino-entrepreneurs","tag-latino-owned-businesses","tag-small-business","tag-wallethub","tag-women-owned-businesses"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/465372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}