U.S. Latinos are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, which is having a devastating effect on the community’s health and economic well-being. From personal finance to small business and homeownership, the Latino population has been hard-hit and is seeking resources to navigate current economic challenges.
Prior to the pandemic, Latinos were driving small business growth, and many were microbusinesses or a business of one. This created an overlap between consumers and small business owners who face similar financial challenges.
According to a research brief of the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative (SLEI), the window of viability for small businesses is narrowing. Among the resurveyed group of mostly scaled Latino-owned businesses, one in four will run out of cash before the end of the year.
Despite these current hardships, Latinos have a higher level of optimism and resiliency than most communities. Latino consumers, entrepreneurs and workers are continuing to drive growth and sustain the economic engine of our country’s future.
As head of the enterprise Hispanic Segment Strategy at Wells Fargo, Xochitl Leon is helping Wells Fargo understand the financial needs of the Hispanic community to drive market share, revenue growth and brand preference for the corporation. She is passionate about helping the Latino and diverse communities succeed, heavily engaged in non-profit boards to empower youth, and is a recognized corporate achiever. In 2017, Xochitl Leon was recognized by HACR (Hispanic Association Corporate Responsibility) as a Young Corporate Achiever. She is the Co-Founder/board member of the Bay Area non-profit LISTAS, a board member of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s San Francisco Advisory Board, was appointed by the state of California to serve on the California Board of Accountancy and a HOPE (Hispanas Organized for Political Equality) Leadership Institute alumna.
Produced for: Wells Fargo
