Great things have been happening in the last 12 months in the REAP Hispanic Business Center. Nine computer classes were held in the Nebraska communities of South Sioux City, Norfolk, Columbus and West Point. Over 300 individuals were trained on Computer Basics, E-Commerce and Microsoft Office.

The classes have special value to many of these participants since they have not had a chance to work with computers before or have had limited experience with technology. A recent study examining Hispanic Consumers and Technology shows 58 percent of Hispanics owned a desktop computer, compared to 77 percent of non-Hispanic consumers.

Two Business Plan Basics Trainings were also held in South Sioux City and Schuyler. Start-up and existing businesses participated in the classes, learning new management skills, understanding the pros and cons of owning a business, gaining new marketing strategies and acquiring some bookkeeping techniques to have better control of their finances.

More than any other segment of the population, Hispanics view entrepreneurship as a way to pursue the American Dream, take control of their lives and support their families. As a result, REAP and the Hispanic Business Center had a significant number of loan requests in 2011.

Most financial institutions do a marginal job serving the fastest growing ethnic population in the United States. REAP is different, explains Hispanic Business Center director Juan Sandoval. “We are here to provide loan funds, technical assistance and trainings to help Hispanic business owners to be successful,” said Juan. “We understand their culture, speak the language, listen to their needs and want them to stay in business for a number of years.”

REAP continues working with Hispanic Roundtable Groups in South Sioux City, Madison, Columbus, West Point, Schuyler and Lexington doing presentations on Sales and Use Tax, Incorporating your Business, Networking, and developing new curricula for future training opportunities.

2012 promises to be a great year for REAP as we will be implementing a Hispanic Small Business Conference in Nebraska. “This is an ambitious plan our organization wants to pursue,” says Juan. “And there is no better time to accomplish this goal than right now, when the number of Hispanic businesses has been growing dramatically in the last 10 years.”

For more information or to comment, contact Juan Sandoval, REAP Hispanic Business Center director, at juans@cfra.org or 402.371.7786.