WEBVTT - Special Report: Hispanic-Owned Business Investment (Audio)

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<v Speaker 1>The total economic output of US Latinos was two point

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<v Speaker 1>eight trillion dollars in Yet, despite being a key driving

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<v Speaker 1>force of the US economy, experts say the capital isn't

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<v Speaker 1>flowing towards the growth. According to the Latino Business Action Network,

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<v Speaker 1>Hispanic downed businesses have grown forty four per cent in

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<v Speaker 1>the last ten years, compared to just four percent for

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<v Speaker 1>non Latinos, but less than two percent of the available

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<v Speaker 1>venture capital funding in the US goes into this cohort.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the best economy in the world, the free

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<v Speaker 1>enterprise system, but it largely excludes small businesses and minority

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<v Speaker 1>owned businesses even today. Rameiro Cavasos is the president and

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<v Speaker 1>CEO of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Then

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<v Speaker 1>a big part of it. I think it's just relationships.

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<v Speaker 1>It's networks, you know, I hate to say it. We're

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<v Speaker 1>largely invisible. In order to make those connections, Anna Veldez,

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<v Speaker 1>president and CEO of the Latino Donor Collaborative, says more

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<v Speaker 1>vcs need to get out of their comfort zone. You

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<v Speaker 1>need to start reaching out to places where you actually

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<v Speaker 1>never reach. People that may not be as well versed,

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<v Speaker 1>that may not come from your environment, that may not

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<v Speaker 1>look like you, that may not talk like you, but

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<v Speaker 1>that that are making a lot of money. Anthony Alcassar

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<v Speaker 1>is finding himself in the middle of the struggle. His company, Mr.

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<v Speaker 1>Tortilla is number one on Amazon. They've expanded their product

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<v Speaker 1>line and just opened a second factory. My projections are

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<v Speaker 1>thirty millions between twenty three sixty million for two hundred millions,

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<v Speaker 1>and I can't get a fair shake, he says. The

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<v Speaker 1>offers he has received include a majority stake in his business.

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<v Speaker 1>We worked a whole ice for this, and so if

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<v Speaker 1>I lose control ownership now, I can guarantee that they're

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<v Speaker 1>going to polus in philosophies and run our business the

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<v Speaker 1>way we want to run it. That's why Latino venture

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<v Speaker 1>capitalists and banking and community lenders and seedy bias development

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<v Speaker 1>finance institution, we got to get them to step up.

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<v Speaker 1>Latitude Ventures is doing just that. The company recently launched

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<v Speaker 1>a one million dollar fund focused on Latino founded early

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<v Speaker 1>stage businesses. We're looking hard. We're creating the pipeline. We're

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<v Speaker 1>creating the visibility so that any Latino and Latino that

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<v Speaker 1>has been shut out that they can come here and

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<v Speaker 1>they're going to get a fair look. Company president sold through.

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<v Speaker 1>He has his own prediction. My bed is between now

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<v Speaker 1>and the end of the decade, A trillion dollars a

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<v Speaker 1>capital should be flowing here so that we can grow

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<v Speaker 1>GDP at a highly competitive rate versus doing it the

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<v Speaker 1>same way. Valdez puts that growth into perspective. If Latinos

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<v Speaker 1>got the same proportion of credit as whites are given,

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<v Speaker 1>it would translate into adding three point three trillion of

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<v Speaker 1>revenue of companies in this country. But it's not only

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<v Speaker 1>venture capital funding. L B a N reports the odds

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<v Speaker 1>of loan approval from national banks are sixty percent lower

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<v Speaker 1>for Latino owned businesses. Industry leaders say it comes down

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<v Speaker 1>to diversification. It's a proportionate representation at a levels in

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<v Speaker 1>the bank, from the board all the way to the

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<v Speaker 1>C suite, all the way to the executive branch, and

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<v Speaker 1>then to the branches. Actress, singer and entrepreneur Jennifer Lopez

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<v Speaker 1>is looking to change the playing field people one. Lopez

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<v Speaker 1>launched Limitless Labs to raise funds for Latina entrepreneurs, including

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<v Speaker 1>a partnership with Goldman Sachs, and this past June, Lopez

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<v Speaker 1>partnered with Gramina America to help distribute fourteen billion dollars

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<v Speaker 1>in loans to six hundred thousand Latina business owners by

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<v Speaker 1>the future of this economy will depend on small businesses

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<v Speaker 1>and Latino owned businesses because of share demographics. According to

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<v Speaker 1>the US Census Bureau, more than half of the total

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<v Speaker 1>US population growth between came from Hispanics, and with Latino

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<v Speaker 1>entrepreneurs starting small businesses faster than the rest of the

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<v Speaker 1>start up population, the rising tide will lift all boats

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<v Speaker 1>in New York. I'm Lisa Mateo, Bloomberg Radio