Each year from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, Americans celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month as a time to recognize the many contributions, diverse cultures and extensive histories of the American Latino community. 

More Hispanics than ever before are seizing opportunities to start businesses. The fastest growing segment of the United States population, they own and operate a total of more than 350,000 businesses nationwide, in turn employing more than 3 million people and counting. 

Both President Joe Biden and Isabella Castilla Guzman, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, have made strengthening Hispanic-owned small businesses a priority over the last 18 months. 

The COVID-19 pandemic was the leading cause of business failure over the last two years. This was especially true for businesses owned by communities of color, women and veterans. The president took decisive action in partnership with Congress to implement programs and policies that bolstered millions of struggling small businesses and gave them a fighting chance to survive and thrive after the pandemic.

 President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan (ARP), which helped millions of small businesses with continued financial aid and targeted smaller minority owned firms in underserved communities. Hispanic-owned businesses were some of the most severely hurt by the various lockdowns at the height of the pandemic. 

The ARP directly invested in our hardest-hit small businesses to ensure they could safely reopen and remain open. The ARP also bolstered the Paycheck Protection Program with an additional $7.25 billion in funding to support small businesses and non-profits that were previously excluded, such as businesses owned by women, veterans and minorities. The plan also launched the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which targeted restaurants and other hard-hit food establishments, as well as the Shuttered Venue Operator Grant program.

 In November 2021, the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed into law, which created enormous opportunities for minority businesses to gain access to more than $1.2 trillion in federal, state and local government contracts on a variety of projects nationwide. 

A large proportion of Hispanic-owned businesses are in the construction and service industries, which will directly benefit from this comprehensive bill. This bill will fortify entrepreneurship, innovation and domestic supply chains and in the process strengthen our democracy by creating equitable pathways to the American dream.

 Finally, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 makes urgent investments that will bring down costs, level the playing field and open historic opportunities for America’s 33 million small businesses and innovative startups — especially those businesses owned by minorities, women and veterans.  

This law not only tackles inflation and powers America’s transition to safer, cleaner energy, but also shrinks the budget deficit and — most importantly —drives down health care and energy costs for small businesses and their employees. Lower costs mean small businesses can focus on doing what they do best, creating jobs, developing talent, innovating and opening doors of growth and opportunity across our communities — including selling more American-made goods and services to the world’s largest buyer: the U.S. government. 

 The president’s policies over the last 18 months have had positive effects on Hispanic-owned small businesses.

National Hispanic Heritage Month offers a time to applaud the accomplishments and fortitude of our Hispanic communities as well as celebrate the American dream of small business ownership. 

Aikta Marcoulier is administrator of U.S. Small Business Administration Region VIII. Marcoulier oversees the programs and services of the federal agency in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. For more information, visit www.sba.gov. Follow the agency on Twitter @SBArockymtn and @SBA_colorado.