Hispanics Keep Their Businesses Afloat

ACCION OPPORTUNITY FUND| Luz Urrutia supporting small businesses. (Foto/El Comercio de Colorado)

LUZ URRUTIA, ACTION OPPORTUNITY FUND

Newsroom El Comercio de Colorado

Haga click aquí para leer la versión en español

Luz Urrutia, president of the Accion Opportunity Fund (AOF) visited Colorado to get in touch with small business owners in the state. “We came to Colorado to better understand how small businesses are doing and how they have managed to survive the pandemic. We have paid a lot of attention to the limitations of growth that small entrepreneurs identify with,” said Urrutia.

This executive has in her hands the granting of financial resources. “We offer credit to entrepreneurs who have small businesses. We give them credit and we also offer them financial education and technical advice. We help you to set up your business, to register, to put in order all the financial documents that you are going to need. We grant the resources based on the individual situation of each businessperson”, stated Urrutia.

For 25 years, the AOF has made more than a billion dollars in loans to entrepreneurs in low-income communities. The beneficiaries of the loans may have had difficulty accessing funds from commercial financial institutions. “Our clients had little financial support,” says Urrutia. 80 percent of AOF borrowers identify as people of color and nearly a third are women.

Hard work and perseverance

Urrutia’s story explains her commitment to helping minorities. “When I finished my university degree in the United States, I started working for a bank. I applied for a credit card for $500 and the bank I was working for denied it. They hired me, but they didn’t give me credit. I realized that one day I was going to establish a financial organization to give immigrant communities and women access to resources,” she said.

About 18 years ago, Urrutia established a community bank in the state of Georgia to provide affordable financial services. That process was not easy, recounts Urrutia. She and two of her female employees had to get 10 million dollars to start the bank. They only ended up getting 20 percent of what they needed. It was when she confirmed a terrible reality. Without the inclusion of a man in the project, it was going to be difficult for people to take her seriously.

Big challenges

“In 20 years we haven’t made much progress. Women today receive 4 percent of bank loans. They only receive 2 percent of the capital required to start a business. If you don’t have a credit history and if you’re an immigrant, it’s uphill to be able to access credit,” she assured. Understanding this reality has allowed the AOF to create financial products that are inclusive and seek to empower minorities.

Urrutia highlights a minority enterprise that the AOF supports. “One of our clients came here when she was making tamales and selling them door to door. After receiving about three or four of our loans, this same entrepreneur has a tamale factory where she produces 60,000 tamales a month. The tamales are sold at Whole Foods and other chains. During the pandemic, this entrepreneur lost a lot of contracts, but she survived,” she said.

Urrutia says that this businesswoman got the public schools to buy her tamales. “We supported her, and she came through. And once again it is growing. What I learned from this case is that Hispanics are resourceful, and we keep our businesses afloat. All we need is a little help. We are not asking for charity. We ask for help to be able to create a bridge between where we are today and where we want to be”, she concluded.

More about Accion Opportunity Fund

https://aofund.org/