Global icon Jennifer Lopez and microfinance company Grameen America have joined forces to empower 600,000 Latina businesswomen; historically excluded from the financial mainstream.
The new partnership seeks to advance both Lopez’s latest philanthropic project, Limitless Labs, which aims to support Latina-owned small businesses; as well as Grameen America’s goal to empower 600,000 Latina entrepreneurs, across 50 US cities with $14 billion in life-changing business capital and six million hours of financial education and training by 2030.
Lopez joins as Grameen America’s National Ambassador to advocate for and mentor the organisation’s network of over 150,000 small businesses; run by women in predominantly Latinx communities across the United States. Limitless Labs, the home for all of Lopez’s philanthropic and values-driven work, aims to uplift, educate and provide essential resources to underserved communities; like the one in The Bronx where Lopez grew up. Additional areas of focus include youth empowerment, civic engagement, and empowering women with the confidence to live limitlessly.
Grameen America provides access to business capital, credit- and asset-building, financial education, and peer support to enable women living below the federal poverty level; to boost their income and create jobs in their communities. It envisions an inclusive society in which all entrepreneurs, regardless of gender, race or income, have access to fair and affordable financial services to support upward economic mobility. The organisation provides ongoing financial education to members and reports microloan repayments; to credit bureaus to enable participants to build their financial identities. Since its founding in 2008, Grameen America has served over 150,000 women in 23 US cities; distributed $2.6 billion in loans; and helped create and maintain 157,000 jobs. The organisation’s repayment rate is over 99%; and its members have achieved an average credit score of 644 through participation in the programme.
INSPIRING LATINA BUSINESSWOMEN
To kick off her role as National Ambassador, Lopez will motivate, promote and inspire Latina businesswomen; helping them understand the pathway to financial independence and literacy through joining the Grameen America microloan programme. Lopez will mentor the organisation’s existing Latina business owners, educating them on the importance of credit and asset-building; and developing a savings programme to promote financial resilience. The partnership will also enhance Grameen America’s financial education and training platform; prioritising digital and multimedia resources to promote financial literacy.
“Being Latino in this country has always been a matter of pride for me. I am humbled and beyond grateful to partner with Grameen America,” said Jennifer Lopez. “We’re building pathways to employment and leadership opportunities. There’s so much strength in this community and we’re harnessing that. This partnership will create equality, inclusivity and opportunity for Latina women in business. This will change the fabric of America!”
“Jennifer Lopez is a trailblazer, having given visibility and advocacy to ensure Latina women are educated, financially empowered and healthy,” said Andrea Jung, President & CEO of Grameen America. “Grameen America is the only organisation with the national scale, reach and proven model required to deploy $14 billion in loan capital to emerging businesswomen in Latinx communities. Together we will shape entrepreneurship as a viable pathway to success for Latina women; who have historically lacked access to the formal financial markets and are often marginalised from economic opportunity.”
REVITALISING STRUGGLING BUSINESSES
Despite gaps in opportunity, Latina entrepreneurs represent the fastest-growing, yet untapped, segment of U.S. small business owners. In the past 10 years, the number of Latino-owned small businesses has grown 44% compared to just 4% for non-Latinos, confirmed a recent report by the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative. The same report notes Latino-owned businesses are significantly less likely than white-owned businesses to receive loans from national banks; despite demonstrating strong lending criteria. For women, financial exclusion is disproportionately higher as only 4% of all small business loans from mainstream financial institutions go to women, according to a report by the National Women’s Business Council.
“Asking for a loan from a bank is not as easy as people think; and even more challenging for businesswomen in my community,” said Maria Lugo, Grameen America member and owner of Who’s Papi? Tires by Papi, an auto-repair and tire shop located in Woodside, Queens. Lugo joined Grameen America in 2011 to revitalise her family’s struggling business. Today, Lugo’s thriving business has expanded in its size, services, and staff to meet growing demand. Most importantly, Lugo’s savings allowed her to send her three children to college. “The road to business success is not always easy to navigate; but with hard work and access to financial services, education, and mentorship, it’s possible to achieve your vision,” said Lugo. “Surround yourself with people who are going to lift you higher.”
Earlier this year, US professional tennis player Serena Williams has joined forces with Karat to solve the global shortage of software engineers, and double the number of Black engineers in tech. Click here to read more.
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