The Hispanic population jumped by 66% in the Upstate between 2010 and 2020, but Ramiro A. Cavazos said the playing field for Hispanics, nationwide, is far from level.
The University of South Carolina-Upstate’s George Dean Johnson, Jr. College of Business and Economics hosted a discussion featuring Cavazos, president and CEO of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, in a webinar on Nov. 9.
Cavazos said his organization’s DNA is about building strength at the local level. He said Hispanics come from more than 30 nations, makeup 20% of the U.S. population and have a median age of 30, as opposed to 50 for the rest of the population.
“We’re not a race — we’re a culture,” he said.
The 56.5 million Latinos in America account for $2.7 trillion of the overall U.S. economy, making them the 7th-largest economy in the world by themselves with more buying power than the nation of India. South Carolina is home to 272,791 Hispanics, and Greenville County has a Hispanic population of 44,655, or 9 percent of the population, according to a survey by Furman University and the S.C. Hispanic Alliance.
Hispanics in business facts
- 62 million Latinos in America
- The median age of 30 for Latinos
- Hispanics contribute $2.7 trillion to the U.S. economy
- Hispanics in America are the 7th largest global economy by themselves
And in South Carolina, Evelyn Lugo, founder and president of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, said Hispanic businesses in South Carolina are a force too, making up for combined sales of $2 billion.
But, both she and Cavazos said that, while Hispanic businesses are bouncing back from pandemic-era shutdowns, they remain hamstrung by discriminatory lending practices.
According to a study by the Federal Reserve, only 25% of Hispanic businesses of low credit risk received business loans, compared with 48% of white-owned businesses. Hispanic businesses were more likely to receive funding from the community and family.
The way forward, Cavazos said, is gaining access to capital and capacity and getting contracts from government and private industry.
His organization’s position on immigration is to urge the government to fix the problem or “we’ll get left behind.” He mentioned the 20 million unfilled jobs in the country that businesses are having difficulty filling.
“Our economy needs (immigrants),” Cavazos said.
