SBDC-OC welcomes Southwest Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Leadership of the Small Business Development Corporation of Orange County joined in the celebration Feb. 1 that welcomed a new chamber of commerce to the Inland Empire business community. The Southwest Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, led by President and Chief Executive Officer Tiffany Ente, serves San Bernardino and Riverside counties and the San Gabriel Valley with a focus on tourism, entertainment, and technology innovation sectors. A debut event was held at AmPac Business Capital in Ontario. This new chamber is positioned to bring opportunities to Hispanic-owned and diverse businesses in the inland region toward creating equitable economic growth. Pictured are Lorena Gracia, Senior Home Lending Advisor with Chase Bank and SBDC-OC partner Armando Romero, principal, EquiPoint Capital Advisors.

SVP of Commercial Lending participates in Khmer & AAPI training workshop

On November 12, 2022 the William Stephanie Foundation hosted the “Disaster Preparedness & Crisis Communication” and “SBA Resources and Access to Capital” training workshops at the Long Beach Expo Arts Center. Guest panelists included Small Business Development Corporation of Orange County’s Nestor Correa, SVP of Lending. The foundation aims to connect Khmer & AAPI entrepreneurs to resources, and provide a space to network to build a sustainable economy within the community.

SBDC-OC participates in panel at economic and empowerment summit

Last Friday, SBDC-OC President Michael A. Ocasio participated in the 19th Economic Development and Empowerment Summit, sponsored by The National Diversity Coalition. The conference was full of excellent talks and opportunities on the vast world of the metaverse. The summit provided information on cryptocurrency's future while allowing participants to learn more about housing and small businesses. Our staff got a chance to meet OCC Acting Comptroller Michael Hsu, who provided a Q&A session with event participants.

The National Diversity Coalition (NDC) is a non-profit organization advocating for greater opportunity, financial equality, and economic empowerment for the diverse, minority and low-to-moderate income communities. NDC works with corporations and federal, as well as state agencies, on policies that help break down the barriers of the unbanked and underbanked, through greater corporate social responsibility, consumer protection, supplier diversity, providing access to capital and broadband, among others.

Development Corporation hosts Board and Employee Retreat

Catalina Island logo

Sometimes a simple thank you isn’t enough. To express deep appreciation for its employees’ hard work this past fiscal year, Small Business Development Corporation of Orange County recently treated them to a two-day get-away to Catalina Island complete with beach-side palapas. This fun trip occurred in concert with the organization’s annual board meeting allowing employees and directors to jointly celebrate a highly successful year helping small businesses reach their goals through loan guarantees and other assistance.

Development Prez shares insights about state government loans on Podcast

 
 

On August 1st, Michael Ocasio, President / CEO of Small Business Development Corporation of Orange County (SBDC-OC) was interviewed by podcast host Gene Valdez on the series CEO to Rainmaker, sharing insights about state government loans. CEO To Rainmaker is a weekly small business educational show dedicated to elevating a CEO’s executive skills so that their companies will stay in business for a very long time and grow. Take a listen to the podcast!

 
 

Development Corporation attends San Bernardino County Economic Forecast

As the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic fades further into our rearview mirror, the impact of the massive fiscal stimulus that was injected into the U.S. economy during the crisis has taken center stage. The historic stimulus created an enormous amount of private sector wealth, which has shown in the form of high savings rates, excessive consumption, rapidly rising asset markets, and exploding home prices.

At this year's San Bernardino County Economic Forecast Conference, Dr. Christopher Thornberg presented a comprehensive forecast for the national, state, and Inland Empire economies, addressing the most important trends affecting consumers, businesses, real estate markets, and government through 2022 and beyond.

Keynote speakers included California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, UCR Research Manager Dr. Taner Osman, and County of San Bernardino CEO Leonard Hernandez.

Lending startup Acelera Financial revs up trucking industry, aims to expand services

Lending startup Acelera Financial revs up trucking industry, aims to expand services

Acelera Financial Corp. was founded in 2019 in Los Angeles just a few months before the pandemic began its calamitous sweep. It aims to help fill the funding void experienced by many startups and small companies seeking equipment loans, particularly ventures owned by immigrants and people of color located in low to moderate-income California communities.

Over 10K Jobs Created or Preserved through COVID-19 Micro Loan Guarantees

California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank) recently celebrated an amazing milestone – more than 10,000 jobs created or retained by California small businesses since April 2020 through IBank’s Covid-19 Micro Loan Guarantee Program. This initiative, which resulted in $92 million in approved loans, represents a state investment of $50 million in the wellbeing of its most vulnerable businesses during a critical time. Small and micro businesses are our state’s economic lifeblood. As such, Small Business Development Corporation of Orange County is profoundly grateful for the important work of IBank in supporting these business communities, for the lenders who collaborate with SBDC-OC in providing crucial funding, and for our community leaders for building awareness and continuing their commitment to assist local business owners. Improving and maintaining the health of our economy is truly a team effort.