United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) Annual Convention Focuses on Financial Resources for Small Business

The 29th annual United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) Convention and Business Expo concludes with a gala celebration sponsored by AT&T, Sprint Nextel Corporation, and Wells Fargo.
The dominant theme for this year’s convention has been education for business owners about tools and resources needed to grow Hispanic-owned businesses. It is estimated that the total purchasing power of Hispanics in America will exceed $1.3 Trillion by 2012.
Banking Giant Wachovia Lends a Hand
The Alianza Partner, the highest-level sponsor, for the convention and business expo this year is Wachovia (www.Wachovia.com). Senior Vice President and Director for Leadership Practices, Rosie Saez, said, “For me, small business is the anchor that sustains our communities, and in particular our Hispanic communities, in our nation today.”
Saez emphasized that Wachovia provides banking services to small and medium sized businesses, and that they also spend considerable resources helping businesses understand how to write business plans and marketing plans, and how to provide guidance in financing a business via bank loans as well as private equity investments.
Juan Silveira, Senior Vice President and Director of the Interactive Design Group for Wachovia, added that his company employs over 10,000 employees of Hispanic heritage and that this provides them a competitive advantage in serving the more than 2.5 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the US.
Bilingual Life Insurance Services from S.USA Life
The USHCC also highlighted at this year’s convention a new alliance with S.USA Life Insurance that will be managed by Hispanic Chamber Insurance Services, a USHCC-owned insurance agency. The company’s term life and whole life products will be initially sold under the alliance program in California, and then the program will expand nationwide over the next several years.
Vikki Pryor, the President and CEO of S.USA Life and its parent company SBLI USA Mutual Life Insurance (www.SUSA.com) and the first African- American woman to head a life insurance company in the US, was proud to share that her company is committed to diversity inside the organization as well as throughout communities in the nation that have been underserved by the financial services industry.
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