We represent, educate and promote Hispanic
businesses throughout the Mid-Atlantic Area:

• We are the voice of the Hispanic business community in Government at all levels;
• We provide relevant business tools and information that increase
   profits and access to capital and open new-market opportunities;
• We offer real-life training by experienced teachers to make businesses more
   efficient and profitable and to compete favorably in business-to-business
   (B2B) and business-to-Government (B2G) procurement opportunities;
• We advocate for and promote the Hispanic business community as a
   cornerstone of the U.S. economy;
• We "give back" to local communities by sponsoring and encouraging
   member business to support scores of non-profit organizations and
   community events throughout the area.

   We help member businesses throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region to gain a competitive edge, and we champion them, large and small. Because of our expertise in the English- and Spanish-speaking communities, we can facilitate companies to gain greater access to either market. Hispanic-owned businesses need to understand potential customers of northern European descent and American companies need to be able to respond to the needs and buying power of Latino consumers.

   Market penetration in both communities has been uneven. For instance, many Hispanic restaurants could achieve greater revenues if they would modify their recipes to adjust to American consumer's taste and learn also how to make dishes visually more attractive and design menus that would help maximize sales. On the other hand, for years American banks missed a profitable business opportunities with billions of dollars in remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean. Approximately 40% of Hispanics in the U.S. do not have a checking, savings or credit card account and prefver to keep their cash at home and pay purchases by cash. Yet, banks have not teamed up with Hispanic Chambers of Commerce and the news media to provide the community with financial literacy.

For the past three years, we have worked diligently to:

• Help Hispanic entrepreneurs start their own businesses and encouraged the
   growth of existing businesses by helping them implement better business practices;
• Advise local, state and federal elected and appointed officials on issues that
   pertain to Hispanic businesses and the Hispanic community at large;
• Make Maryland and the region a better place to live, work and do business for all.

   As the demographics and wealth of the region have changed, so have we. Today, our focus is broader and our emphasis more regional as we recognize that the overwhelming majority of the Hispanic population and of Hispanic-owned businesses in Maryland and Virginia reside in counties surrounding the core of the region, the District of Columbia.

   The Chamber is, therefore, actively engaged in creating business opportunities for our members in the public and private sectors in order to ensure the business and personal success of our members. Consequently, we seek to form strategic alliances throughout the region with like-minded organizations that share common business interests and our commitment to make the Mid-Atlantic Region, a stronger, safer, and better place for all of us.

   Experience has taught us that Hispanic business owners want a chamber of commerce that fully represents their interests at the local, state and federal government, and that also monitors key issues for their members such as government procurement, maintaining a well-educated workforce and a strong public educational system, and safe, healthy, prosperous and attractive communities.

   To accomplish this, we work with local, state, regional and national chambers of commerce such as the Frederick County and Germantown-Gaithersburg Chambers of Commerce in Maryland, the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, The Greater Washington Board of Trade regionally, and the U.S. Chamber and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce at the national level. We collaborate with local, state, and federal government officials and with economic development departments and agencies at all levels to ensure a favorable pro-business climate and programs that strengthen entrepreneurship and small-business formation. And when laws are passed that impact your business, we are ready to provide you with the tools to make compliance easier.

   Internationally, we support fair, open and competitive global commerce and greater economic collaboration between the United States and Latin America because it is good for business and it is critically important for the strengthening of our hemispheric security. We are proud to have worked closely during 2004-2005 with the White House and U.S. Congress in the passage of the Central American-Dominican Republic-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (DR-CAFTA).

   Since 2004, we have been actively involved in statewide issues such as improved funding for English classes for new immigrants; state tuition for Hispanic students who have graduated from Maryland secondary schools and who have met the requirements to attend state universities and community colleges; ensuring that Minority Business Enterprise Programs are open and fair to women, veteran and minority businesses; and advocating for comprehensive national immigration reform before the U.S. Congress and the White House.

Government Relations

   As one of the largest membership-based Hispanic business organizations in the region, we are actively representing Hispanic business interest in state legislatures and in Washington, DC.

   Our goal is three-fold:

• We promote Hispanic businesses and other businesses that sell or would like to sell    products and services to the Hispanic community;
• We strive to create a favorable business climate for economic growth; and,
• We help prepare the Hispanic community and the state for a better and more prosperous future.

   We accomplish this through grassroots initiatives, comprehensive analysis of issues vital to the Hispanic community, consultation with business and political leaders, strategic alliances with like-minded organizations and, ultimately, lobbying. And we provide you with timely and relevant information to learn the issues and the tools to contact your elected officials via legislative-alert bulletins and through our website and monthly newsletters.

   There are other avenues for information sharing and advocacy as well. Our monthly Business Leaders’ luncheons provide a unique opportunity to interact face-to-face with prominent business and political leaders who are invited to address issues relevant to our business and community interests. Also, our Annual Maryland Legislative Reception in Annapolis bring legislators and government officials and Hispanic businesses from all over Maryland together to meet and greet in a social atmosphere. And regardless of which political party controls the White House or Congress, we are active participants in debates that affect the Hispanic community nationwide.

Products and Member Services

   Our portfolio of products and services continues to grow. We want to give our members a full range of benefits, including access to legal and legislative information, insurance programs, access to capital and markets, increased government and procurement opportunities, group discount rates, and much more.

Business Resources

   Hispanic businesses throughout the state follow our daily news updates, legislative analyses and educational forums. And we continue to form strategic alliances with value-added organizations, such as the U.S. Small Business Administration, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau in Maryland, and the District of Columbia. From international trade to industry networking, we’ve got the information, programs and services to meet your business needs.

No matter what the size of your business is, when you become a member we will become your partners to help you succeed in business and we will provide for you a stronger voice at the state and federal levels. And for the price of one membership, qualifying small businesses automatically become members of the U.S Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.