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Fuerza Local Arizona, part of the Local First Arizona Foundation, has partnered with national economic development nonprofit Interise on a new pilot program to promote economic diversity and inclusion by supporting the growth of Latinx businesses.

The pilot program is known nationally as Accelerate Latinx but locally as Nivel Ejecutivo, which translates to 鈥淣ext Level Executive.鈥� It will use Interise鈥檚 StreetWise鈥橫BA鈥� curriculum to scale established small businesses to.

鈥淣ivel Ejecutivo is our natural next step for our alumni and their businesses,鈥� said Tanairi Ochoa-Martinez, director of Fuerza Local. 鈥淭he threshold is very specific. At a minimum, they need to be generating at least $250,000 in gross revenue, because the main point of this is scalability, is growth. We want to scale these businesses into million-dollar-revenue-generating businesses.鈥�

Fuerza Local 鈥� Spanish for 鈥淟ocal Force鈥� 鈥� is a business accelerator created by the Local First Arizona Foundation (LFAF) to train underserved Hispanic entrepreneurs on the basics of running a successful business, 鈥減romoting self-reliance and building prosperity in their communities,鈥� according to the website.

鈥淲e have worked with over to provide ongoing support and mentorship to our alumni, and we are thrilled to be able to offer this advanced curriculum to many of our most advanced graduates,鈥� said Kimber Lanning, executive director of the (LFAF), in a press release.

Interise selected Fuerza Local to participate in Accelerate Latinx out of four prospective communities because of its track record with the business accelerator and its ongoing work to boost economic development of Latinx businesses exclusively, Ochoa-Martinez said.

鈥淭his initiative will contribute to Interise鈥檚 ongoing work in economic development through small business, informing both research and programming to close the Latino entrepreneurship gap,鈥� said Darrell Byers, CEO of Interise, in the press release.

Nivel Ejecutivo takes Fuerza Local鈥檚 model further by providing local business owners practical knowledge, management training and access to capital and contracting opportunities.

The program will also teach entrepreneurs the necessary processes and requirements to become successful vendors, preparing firms to contract with local government and anchor institutions such as hospitals and universities.

鈥淲e鈥檙e the only one in the nation at this capacity that is delivering results, delivering content in Spanish to Latino entrepreneurs,鈥� she said. 鈥淚nterise was very excited to reach out so we can be the pioneers and help them lead and be think-partners in the process as well, as they are launching this Accelerate Latinx nationally.鈥�

Nivel Ejecutivo can apply to various industries and business models, including business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) companies, Ochoa-Martinez said. The program seeks business owners who are satisfied with their progress so far but feel stuck because their growth has hit a plateau; 鈥渢hey鈥檙e operating well, we just want them to excel,鈥� she said.

鈥� over $700 billion to the American economy every year,鈥� Byers said. 鈥淎nd while Latinos start businesses at a higher rate than non-Latinos, they start smaller and stay smaller compared to other businesses.鈥�

Latinx business owners are growing in numbers and opening businesses at a rapid rate, and many of them are run by Latina women, Ochoa-Martinez said.

鈥淲hat we have seen, too, is that not only are they creating jobs and creating successful businesses, but [they have] an impact on the community,鈥� she said. 鈥淎 lot of them become philanthropic when they pay it forward. They get involved in the public sector and the nonprofit sector and their public schools.鈥�

Many Latinx business owners have a knack for philanthropy, remain engaged in their communities and ultimately become mentors, Ochoa-Martinez said.

鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for Latino business owners who see themselves bigger and more successful and are open to making changes that will take their businesses to that level,鈥� she said.

Even successful business owners with accountants on their payroll need to know their finances, Ochoa-Martinez said. It is important for owners to be able to read profit-and-loss (P&L) statements, balance sheets and other documents to be able to determine red flags and make decisions, she said.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e on that track of long-life learners, and they are hungry to learn and get more of those resources and tools, because they want to keep creating that difference,鈥� Ochoa-Martinez said.

Nivel Ejecutivo can provide the education and resources necessary to 鈥渆levate their businesses to that next level,鈥� she said.

鈥淚鈥檓 just excited to be able to provide this top-level MBA curriculum to their fingertips,鈥� Ochoa-Martinez said. 鈥淎 lot of them鈥� don鈥檛 have an academic background. It鈥檚 near-impossible to even get an MBA when you don鈥檛 even have an undergraduate degree.鈥�

Fuerza Local is joining the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic 小红帽直播app of Commerce, the Indy 小红帽直播app Hispanic Business Council and the City of Houston Office of Business Opportunity on this year-long initiative, which will also receive funding support from the Kauffman Foundation.

To be eligible for the program, need to have operated their business for at least three years with revenue of $250,000 to $5 million annually, and they must have at least one other full-time employee other than the owner.

Nivel Ejecutivo is set to launch in September in both English and Spanish..