The San Diego Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Imperial Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce merged to further support both regions.
The merged agency will be called the San Diego County Imperial Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and for the next few months, it will work with the California HCC and Imperial Valley Farm Bureau to provide USDA grant funding for that region.
The San Diego HCC was able to help over 300 businesses to receive over $1.6 million from the 2021 City of San Diego Small Business Relief Fund, as reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Before the pandemic, 60 percent of San Diegans were employed by small businesses, and over 90 percent of San Diego’s businesses have fewer than 100 employees, according to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s office.
Local partners including the County of San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce, Asian Business Association of San Diego, San Diego County Imperial Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and San Diego & Imperial Small Business Development Center helped connect COVID relief funding to local businesses. The International Rescue Committee provided assistance and outreach to critical populations in multiple languages.
“The San Diego County Imperial Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s goal is to build strong partnerships, create opportunities and request additional resources for the communities in both the San Diego and Imperial Valley regions,” said Ricardo Villa, President of the San Diego County Imperial Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “This grant program is a great example of what we can accomplish when we work together to support our business community.”
As an effort to grow a bi-national network of new partnerships and opportunities, the merged agency will work with the San Diego Tourism Authority in bringing the California Hispanic chamber and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 2023 annual conventions to San Diego.
The chamber has become the ultimate resource for outside organizations that wish to do business with the Hispanic business community. The San Diego HCC will host a Buisness Mixer on March 16 at Quinta Luna Cafe, 1985 National Ave, for networking opportunities and news about the newly merged agency.
Tickets are available at https://bit.ly/3hxMNwK.
