Long before Hispanic Heritage Month filled a 31-day stretch of the calendar, the observance began as a single week proposed by a congressman from California. Representative George E. Brown, Jr. was raised in Holtville, a small farming community in the Imperial Valley near the Mexican border, where his family had little money and his neighbors were largely farmers and immigrants. In June 1968, while representing parts of eastern Los Angeles, Brown joined 19 House colleagues in sponsoring a joint resolution to set aside a week each September honoring Hispanic Americans.
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the measure into law on September 17, 1968, and his first proclamation for the week honored Americans of Hispanic descent for their contributions “not only in the fields of culture, business, and science, but also through their valor in battle.” In 1988, the observance expanded to a full month, running from September 15 to October 15. The mid-September start aligns with independence anniversaries for five Central American nations on September 15 and Mexico on September 16.
For 2026, the National Council of Hispanic Employment Program Managers selected the theme “UNIDOS, SOMOS MÁS,” or “TOGETHER, WE ARE MORE.”
Fifty-eight years after Brown’s resolution first called for national recognition of Hispanic contributions, the numbers behind the 2026 Hispanic Heritage Month theme tell a powerful story.
Growth Through Two Downturns
From 2007 to 2023, the number of Latino-owned businesses in the United States increased 157.9%, compared with 23.7% growth among non-Latino-owned businesses, according to a UCLA and Cal Lutheran analysis of Census Bureau business data.
Latino business growth held up through two of the hardest economic stretches of the 21st century. The first was the Great Recession. Between 2007 and 2012, Latino entrepreneurs added more than 1 million businesses, a 46.3% increase, while the number of non-Latino-owned businesses shrank. The second was the COVID-19 pandemic, which tested small businesses across the country beginning in 2020. Over the six years from 2017 to 2023, a period spanning the pandemic, the number of Latino-owned businesses grew 47.3%.
Across the full 16 years, Latino-owned businesses accounted for 38.8% of overall U.S. business growth, according to the UCLA and Cal Lutheran analysis. The growth is one part of a larger economic picture. A separate report from the same research team, the annual LDC U.S. Latino GDP Report, found U.S. Latino GDP reached $4.4 trillion in 2024. Measured on its own, U.S. Latino economic output would rank fourth among the world’s economies.
From Owners to Employers
Business growth becomes community growth when a business begins to hire. The UCLA and Cal Lutheran researchers found an especially notable shift from 2017 to 2023. Latino-owned employer businesses, defined as firms with at least one paid employee beyond the owner, grew faster than Latino-owned non-employer businesses, reversing the pattern seen across the broader U.S. economy.
Job creation shows what the shift toward employer businesses means for workers. According to the 2025 State of Latino Entrepreneurship report from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Latino Business Action Network, Latino-owned employer businesses created 976,000 jobs between 2017 and 2023, a 29% increase in employment, far outpacing White-owned employer businesses, where employment grew 1%.
California sits at the center of the trend. Latino-owned businesses accounted for more than 55% of net new employer firms in California between 2017 and 2023, according to the report, while the number of White-owned employer firms in the state fell by approximately 12,000. Construction offers a clear example of where the growth is happening. Nationwide, Latino entrepreneurs expanded their count of construction firms by 86% from 2017 to 2023, while White-owned construction firms grew just 2%.
Every growing employer business represents more than a single owner’s livelihood. When a business hires, expands its operations, purchases equipment, or acquires commercial space, the resulting activity can create opportunities for employees, suppliers, and the communities around it. A growing business is also a customer of local vendors, a tenant or owner of commercial property, and a source of paychecks spent in neighborhood shops.
But strong business growth does not necessarily mean equal access to capital.
Growth and Access to Capital Do Not Always Move Together
According to the Stanford Graduate School of Business State of Latino Entrepreneurship report, Latino business owners sought financing from more sources than White business owners, yet were less likely to walk away with the full amount they asked for. The Stanford report also found the funding gap widened as loan requests grew. On requests of $1 million or more, fewer than one in four Latino-owned businesses (22%) received the full amount, roughly half the rate for White-owned businesses (45%).
Clear explanations for loan denials were also harder to come by. Seventy six percent of Latino business owners said a loan denial came without a specific explanation or guidance on next steps, compared with 67% of White business owners. Without clear reasons, a business owner has little guidance on what to strengthen before applying again.
For a business owner, partial funding and unexplained denials can make the next step harder to finance. A company may have customers, revenue, employees, and a viable plan to expand, yet still face a barrier when it needs capital to purchase property, add equipment, or invest in the business.
The gap between business growth and access to capital is one reason mission-driven lenders can play an important role.
Where Community Lending Fits
Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFIs, are mission-driven lenders certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund to support economic opportunity in communities where traditional lenders may not provide sufficient investment. Certified Development Companies, or CDCs, are nonprofit lenders certified by the Small Business Administration to provide long-term SBA 504 financing for owner-occupied commercial real estate and major equipment.
Community lenders remain underused. The Stanford report found CDFIs were among the less commonly used funding sources for its survey respondents, even though CDFIs focus on lending to small businesses and underserved communities. For Latino entrepreneurs facing partial approvals, unexplained denials, and wide gaps on larger loans, community lending offers a path many have not yet explored.
AmPac Business Capital operates as both a CDC and a CDFI. One of its community lending programs addresses a major hurdle in large purchases like commercial property: the down payment. AmPac’s Down Payment Assistance Program can cover up to half of the required down payment, up to $100,000, for eligible Black-, Latino-, and women-led businesses in California buying owner-occupied commercial real estate through an AmPac SBA loan. Keeping more cash in the business can leave room for payroll, inventory, and other operating costs while the owner takes on the cost of a property.
Unidos, Somos Más
In 1968, President Johnson’s first Hispanic Heritage Week proclamation recognized Hispanic Americans’ contributions to culture, business, and science, as well as their military service. Nearly six decades later, Latino entrepreneurs continue to shape the nation’s economy, building businesses, creating jobs, and contributing to communities across the country.
The 2026 theme, “UNIDOS, SOMOS MÁS,” speaks to more than celebration. It reflects the connections behind that progress. Entrepreneurs create jobs and opportunities. Employees, customers, suppliers, lenders, and community partners all play a role in helping businesses move forward.
The growth of Latino-owned businesses shows what is possible when entrepreneurship has room to thrive. The continued gap in access to capital shows why opportunity and resources still matter.
This Hispanic Heritage Month, “Together, We Are More” is an invitation to recognize both: the remarkable progress of Latino entrepreneurs and the communities, relationships, and opportunities that help make that progress possible.
Explore AmPac’s Community Lending Programs or connect with the AmPac team to discuss available options, given our vision is to uplift communities, strengthen families, and advance entrepreneurial dreams.