Featured on Queens Latino
By Javier Castaño. –
“Business owners are the ones who solve the world’s problems,” said Rocky Chowdhury , community manager at the Chase bank on West 125th Street in Harlem, Manhattan. His remarks were delivered during the graduation of minority small business owners from the Chase for Business program.
Among the graduates were entrepreneurs from the Black and Latino communities. “We have a corporate responsibility to support the community, and we are very proud of the achievements of each of these entrepreneurs,” added Michelle A. Henry , Chase executive for the Eastern United States region. “We want to foster entrepreneurial leadership locally and globally through research, philanthropy, and mentorship.”
Henry also emphasized that Chase for Business is based on a financial, connectivity, sustainability, and entrepreneurial strategy.
The graduation ceremony held on March 22nd in New York City was attended by local business owners and Chase Bank executives. A video featuring the graduating entrepreneurs was shown, and a meal was served at the end of the ceremony at this community bank branch, which has a beautiful view of 125th Street and has been renovated in recent years.
Daisy Briones , owner of construction company IQ Contracting Inc. & Associates, was one of the graduates and said, “I am so grateful for this Chase program because without their help I would have given up on the business without access to capital.”
Briones also thanked Andrea Giraldo , one of Chase’s mentors for this program.
“I took online classes for four months, learned a lot, and want to continue taking classes to advance my business,” said Claudio Zumba , owner of The Line Construction.
Joy Butt , Chase’s senior business consultant, said the program started with a blank slate, and after three years, it’s helping the community and supporting entrepreneurs on what can often be a lonely journey.
“We’re in 40 cities across the nation, we’ve interacted with more than 6,000 people and held more than 1,200 business events,” Butt said. “These entrepreneurs are doing well, although they need to consider an exit strategy because their business doesn’t just belong to each of them, but to the community. This is the only way to build a real business, thinking ahead.”
Tania Terminello , one of the graduates, sells gourmet chocolate from Ecuador (VillaKuyaya), and said Chase for Business had been “a great opportunity for my business.” Cecilia Hernández , founder and CEO of the finance company WH (WealthHealer), said the same.
Naihomy Jerez , a nutritionist specializing in food, health, and wellness, said that through the program she learned to focus and understand the “financial and promotional aspects” of her business. “I want to change the data on Latino illnesses, who lack information and are manipulated by propaganda in the media,” Jerez said.
Julia Carías Linares and Meiling Macias Toro founded Freedom Studios, a film, television, commercial, and digital marketing company. “With the Chase for Business program, we’ve learned about finance and partnerships,” said Carías Linares. “We’ve made documentaries about orphaned children, the African-American community, voting, and politics,” concluded Macias Toro.