March Luncheon

In March, the Tampa Hispanic Chamber and the Tampa Bay Latin Chamber gathered together to share their experiences and perspectives on the challenges that face today’s small business entreprenuers.

HCCTB President Diane Cortez and TBLC President Cesar Hernandez addressed the distinction of Lainos versus Hispanics and how Latinos refer to persons originating from Latin America and Hispanics are those whose origins are from Spanish speaking countries. Both are independent of race.

Tne two also talked about how COVID 19 has magnified the gap in resources for the underserved communities.  But despite this, these communities adjusted and adapted to the new environment.  In particular the entrepreneurial groups.

The next topic was the importance of chambers to the communities that they serve.  Diane Cortes addressed the value of business networking, resource provision and general support for the business communities. 

Cesar explained that the TBLC offers similar benefits with the addition of an accelerator program to position and connect business minded Hispanic and Latinos with the new and growing economies.

The future of business in the Tampa Bay Area, still focuses on manufacturing, logistics and technology and Cesar explained the variables which include access to technology which has become the new equalizer.

In closing, each organization has its unique set of services and focus, they compliment each other in offering support for all Tampa businesses.