nbcnews.com - Latina entrepreneurs are among the fastest growing and industrious business owners in the United States, and one organization is looking to give a leg up to promising companies.
Access Latina, which is completely run by women, provides a platform for promising and pioneering Hispanic women who need capital or guidance to further grow their businesses. The platform seeks to uplift Hispanic women working in agriculture, social innovation and STEM fields.
Puerto Rican co-founders Lucienne Gigante and Marta Michelle Colon have always had an interest in helping others achieve self-sustainability, and so they created Access Latina to offer other Hispanic women with more professional tools, resources and human networks.
"When you invest in Latinas you invest in economic development and society," Colon said. "We are following a path to make good in society, and when you make profit, you can create more social good."
Access Latina is a competitive acceleration platform for Hispanic women who own, or partially own, at least 20 percent of a business worth between $50,000 and $1 million. If applicants are selected by a panel of judges, all receive access to Access Latina's business network, five have the opportunity to win a $25,000 grant and six months of mentorship, and one one will win $100,000 and networking opportunities.