Latino Entrepreneurship Continues to Grow in Philadelphia, and the United States

If Latino-owned businesses grow as fast as the United States average, they could add $1.4 trillion to the U.S. economy, writes Gene Marks for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

According to a 2022 Stanford Graduate School of Business study, Latino entrepreneurs are projected to make up 29% of the U.S. population in 2050, compared to 17% today.

In Philadelphia, there are approximately 12,000 Latino-owned businesses — representing about 4% of all businesses in the city. 

Jennifer Rodriguez, President and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, noted that a large majority of those businesses are owned by solo entrepeneurs, coinciding with the influx of immigrants coming into the city. 

“Many of them — either for language, education, or other reasons — are not able to enter the workforce, so they’ve been starting businesses, mostly in the service and construction areas, because they’ve recognized these are opportunities to create wealth and to really provide for their families,” she said.

To address concerns Latino entrepreneurs face, the Chamber launched the Accelerate Business program.

The program allows participants to gain knowledge, management know-how, and get introduced to the network needed to succeed in business. 

Rodriguez added that the program is important because “entrepreneurship should not be a do-it-yourself project.”

Learn more about the prevalence of Latino businesses in Philadelphia at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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Accelerate Latinx (now Accelerate Business) has helped numerous Latino-owned businesses in Philadelphia scale and thrive.