2 min read January 2023 — Invest: spoke with Gris Bailey, president and CEO of the Latin American Chamber of Commerce, to discuss the profound impact the Latino workforce and small businesses have on the Charlotte economy. “Our current national GDP study shows Latinos are at $2.8 trillion in GDP, meaning we’d be the fifth most powerful in the world if we were a country,” she said.
What have been the top highlights for the Chamber over the past year?
We launched three new initiatives this year, which was huge for the Chamber because we’re shifting from a sponsorship to a partnership model. We want to collaborate with partners who are seeking to have a deeper impact in the community as opposed to a sponsorship model where placement of logos at an event or program are more important than the purpose and impact. We want to align our priorities and mission with partners who believe in what we’re doing. When you have those partnerships and corporations willing to invest in nonprofits, it creates urgency and energy in the community and that is what drives social and political change.
How are Chamber programs impacting the community?
One of our main initiatives is Cultivando Talento, which translates to “cultivating talent.” We saw a need with the labor shortage that dovetailed with the fact that a lot of Latinos are graduating, especially from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. We started this year with a cohort of 15 students going through an eight-week program where they take classes they wouldn’t normally get in college, including financial literacy and generational wealth, personal branding, interviewing and networking skills. The essence of that is to create a Latino talent pipeline that is vetted by the Chamber, with pathways and introductions to big companies in healthcare like Novant and Atrium, and financial giants like Bank of America and Wells Fargo as well as jobs in the community with our local businesses and nonprofits. We will have three more cohorts in 2023 to continue the momentum.
We also have launched an Entrepreneur Hub for business owners. It’s a 12-week program in three phases with a lot of great resources and a stipend. Small businesses often don’t take advantage of tax breaks and state and federal funding, so this is a great entry point for them to access these opportunities and grow their business.
We’re also excited about Shop La Plaza, which is our way of marketing and branding small businesses. They don’t have the funds to market and promote their services or products. It is also helping small businesses build an online revenue stream. We’ve onboarded 100 businesses this year and plan to have 250 by the end of next year. The beauty of this initiative is that it will be self-sustained by year three and ready to scale by year four!
Why are Latinos so vital to a thriving economy?
Everyone is wary of what the economy in 2023 will bring but we are optimistic. Our current national GDP study shows Latinos are at $2.8 trillion in GDP, meaning we’d be the fifth most powerful in the world if we were a country. Time and time again in history, Latinos have carried the workforce and by 2030, the Department of labor predicts that 70% of the workforce will be Latino. Overall, the community is optimistic and we’re finding ways to capitalize on that. We are a powerful presence and we are learning how to amplify our voices.
Specifically, we need to support our DACA recipients and provide them a path to citizenship and success. That would open opportunities for 32,000 Dreamers in the state. Not only does it benefit them, it benefits the workforce. Additionally, our economy would lose $11.7 billion if DACA recipients were forced out of the workforce. Imagine what losing 32,000 workers would look like in the state of North Carolina.
What are your top priorities for the near term?
The average age of a Latino in the United States is about 18 and in North Carolina, the average is 23. Because of that, the focus should shift to the younger professional generation. They are going to be in the labor force in the next five to 10 years. How are we cultivating, empowering and developing them? There are a ton of Latino professionals who aren’t in the DACA program and are U.S. citizens and we need to support them as well. It must be a big focus for Charlotte.
We need to do a better job of getting out and educating the community on what the Chamber does. To that end, we’re exploring the opportunity to open a hub for economic mobility which would be located in one of the Corridors of Opportunity. The No. 1 goal will be finding a location. It would be an opportunity for nonprofits to come together under one umbrella and provide resources that could be available in a one-stop shop. It will help nonprofits not replicate resources so they’re more easily accessible. It will also give stakeholders in the Latino community a place to network. Additionally, having a designated space to represent the Latino Business community could potentially attract more Latin American Businesses to relocate to Charlotte, enhancing our economy.
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