(JACKSONVILLE, FL) November 1, 2023 – Prospera and the First Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (FCHCC) hosted a momentous ribbon-cutting event on October 26 at 4651 Salisbury Rd, Suite 400, marking the inauguration of their co-located offices in Jacksonville. The private event brought together stakeholders of both organizations, staff, and esteemed media representatives to celebrate a significant step in fostering collaboration and providing enhanced services to constituents.

The ceremony, reaffirming the commitment of both Prospera and FCHCC to the growth of local Hispanic-owned businesses and community prosperity, commenced with a networking session, followed by the traditional ribbon-cutting. The event served as a testament to the shared vision of Prospera and FCHCC to empower Hispanic entrepreneurs and promote local economic and community development.

“We have been serving the Jacksonville metro area for some time and are so pleased to now establish a local office, with the support of our generous funders and our community partners,” said Prospera Regional Vice President Katia Medina. “Co-locating our office with the FCHCC makes sense for our organizations and the clients we serve, who can benefit from the complementary services the chamber offers to further develop and grow their businesses.”

“It is with great pride that FCHCC continues to serve the Jacksonville community and surrounding counties as it’s been for the past 31 years. The office will allow us to better serve our business community and bring more educational resources. Opening the office and being co-located with Prospera, together, we can continue to provide tools and resources to the Hispanic business community,” said FCHCC President Monica Hernandez.

Prospera is an economic development, nonprofit organization that has specialized since 1991 in providing bilingual assistance to Hispanic entrepreneurs who want to start, sustain, and grow their business. In the last five years alone, Prospera facilitated over $70 million in loans for small business clients, trained 17,300 entrepreneurs, and helped consulting clients create or retain more than 16,000 jobs. Prospera currently serves Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia. For more information, visit www.prosperausa.org.

The First Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (FCHCC) was created to encourage and promote sound, ethical and successful business practices in the Hispanic community and to further the recognition of Hispanic heritage and culture through educational endeavors. The mission of the FCHCC is to positively impact the regional economy by creating value, promoting, and facilitating the success of Hispanic-owned businesses and by engaging the community at large. For more information, visit fchcc.com.

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Media Contacts – For more information or additional photos:
Katia Medina, Prospera, 407-920-4201, kmedina@prosperausa.org
Sahira Longoria, FCHCC, 407-782-7374, chiefofstaff@fchcc.com

More photos on

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Maria spoke about where different trends of how companies can enter the growing Hispanic market in Florida and the importance of knowing and understanding the different strategies of the market.

The post FCHCC Guest Speaker at Prospera USA Event first appeared on FCHCC.

The meeting was conducted in Spanish and was the first alliance between FCHCC and Prospera. FCHCC has worked with Prospera for several months but has strengthened the collaboration. To learn more about their alliance, read the post: “First Coast Hispanic Chamber and Prospera Collaborate to Benefit Jacksonville Hispanic Community“.

The panelists were:
Andres Gallo, Coggin College of Business, UNF
Annie Grogan, Small Business Administration
Katia Media, Prospera
Monica Hernandez, President, FCHCC
Jaime Sanchez, Business Consultant Florida SBDC at UNF

FCHCC has partnered with several organizations such as: SCORE, SBDC and SBA to offer its members more tools to help grow their businesses. Visit our Resources page for more information.

More meetings like this are forthcoming, click here to subscribe to FCHCC’s mail list to stay up to date on future events.

The post FCHCC’s November 2022 Professional Networking Event Recap/Photos first appeared on FCHCC.

Prospera was established in Tampa in 1991 and its mission is to help start, sustain, and grow Hispanic-owned businesses to achieve community prosperity. Today, the nonprofit, economic development organization serves all of Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia. Last year, it began delivering services to our local community year-round.

“We’re very glad to offer bilingual consulting services and entrepreneurial education in Spanish to Hispanic entrepreneurs in the Jacksonville metro area 12 months of the year now,” said Katia Medina, Prospera Regional Vice President for Central and Northeast Florida. “Thanks to seed funding from JPMorgan Chase and Citi Foundation, we have been able to increase our local presence and be more accessible to the local Hispanic community. Furthermore, our partnership with the First Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is helping us get to know the community and increase awareness of our services among those who need it the most.”

Prospera’s individual consulting is a high value, no cost service. Business owners can request to meet with a Prospera business consultant to analyze their specific business needs, individually and confidentially. Together, they work to identify opportunities and resources that might help the business (in any industry and at any stage) to be more sustainable, successful, and even scalable. Furthermore, Prospera can invest additional resources to help the owner secure capital, and/or advance the planning, marketing, financial recordkeeping, and more aspects of the business. To request an individual consulting session, click here.

Prospera is also hosting in-person seminars in Spanish at the UNF Adam W. Herbert University Center. Some seminars are intended as orientations for entrepreneurs in early stages of business, to help them start or formalize their enterprises more efficiently and cost-effectively. Others focus on topics that are relevant and helpful for business owners with established businesses. The next business seminar in Jacksonville will focus on financial statements and making better financial decisions for your business. It is scheduled for Thursday, November 17 at 6 p.m. and you can register here for free.

“Prospera’s services complement what our chamber of commerce offers local entrepreneurs and Hispanic businesses and we’re looking forward to an ongoing partnership that will enhance our Jacksonville entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Monica Hernandez, President of FCHCC. “Prospera can help fellow chamber members to scale and strengthen their businesses and new startup businesses establish with their assistance can join the chamber to continue growing, networking and promoting their products.”

To learn more about Prospera, visit prosperausa.org, call 1-888-PROSPERA or (904) 999-1929 or email contact@prosperausa.org.

The post First Coast Hispanic Chamber and Prospera Collaborate to Benefit Jacksonville Hispanic Community first appeared on FCHCC.