Google just announced a $15 million expansion focusing on Latino entrepreneurs in the U.S. The goal of this expansion is to help students, job seekers, and entrepreneurs with equitable access to funding, training, and support so they can succeed.
Google Investing $15 Million in Latino Entrepreneurs
As Google CEO, Sundar Pichai said, “Supporting Latinos throughout their education and careers is critical to creating pathways to economic opportunity and financial prosperity.” This not only benefits Latino communities across the U.S. but the country as a whole.
With that goal in mind, Google is going to help the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. small business community to secure funding. This will include a set of programs that will empower communities, offer training for the digital economy, and provide access to open doors to resources for funding.
The Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund will support organizations that help to grow a community of Latino founders. The top founders will get up to $100,000 in non-dilutive funding. This is a type of funding that helps founders avoid debt and keep ownership of their company.
Beyond this, Google is going to support the Latino startup ecosystem with programs and community-building organizations by allocating $1 million. It will include supporting and expanding the Google for Startups partner network as well as seeking new Latino-focused organizations. Google is going to provide scholarships for Latino founders to participate in Founder Gym. This is a Google for Startups partner that runs a 6-week program to train founders so they can raise funds for their startups.
While helping Latinos find the funds they need is a step in the right direction, supporting them when they are students and job seekers is just as important.
Early Support for Latinos
Acquiring digital skills is extremely important for all students. According to Google, helping Latino students develop the digital skills they need will help them find and secure internships and jobs. In turn that will lay the groundwork for building successful careers.
This support will come in the form of a $2 million investment for college career services centers across the U.S. The money is going to be used to train digital skills to 200,000 Latino college students by 2025. The initiative is part of an expansion of the Grow with Google Career Readiness Program. It will include a partnership with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) to reach Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs).
The last effort is a $1 million Google.org grant to the Hispanic Federation. The grant will improve Latino-led and Latino-serving nonprofit organizations’ capacity to help deliver career-aligned digital skills training to more than 6,000 Latinos over the next year. To date, Google’s commitment to the Latino community from Google.org grants totals more than $20 million over the past five years.
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