From Immigrant to Entrepreneur, West End Neighborhood House and The Arsht-Cannon Fund Work Together to Launch Small Business Dreams
(Wilmington, DE, June 22, 2022) – Angel Cabera is among several dozen past Launcher graduates who have started their own business. As a Columbian immigrant, Angel didn’t speak a word of English prior to his arrival. After just three years in the United States, he was able to start his own business, M & M Service Cleaning, and now employs over 30 staff.
Cabera owes his success in part to West End Neighborhood House’s Launcher Entrepreneurship Program. This 12-week classroom training course (including a graduation ceremony upon completion) covers the foundational areas of starting one’s own business, such as: finance, accounting, marketing, operations, credit review, management, and more. Also included are several hours of one-on-one assistance between the instructor and each student, along with access to credit and business location assistance, among other resources.
“Thanks to West End’s Launcher Entrepreneurship Program, I was taught what I needed to know to start a business, such as creating a plan and accessing finances.”
According to the Stanford Graduate School of Business, in collaboration with the Latino Business Action Network, Latino-owned businesses have grown 35% in the last ten years, whereas non-Latino-owned companies have grown by 4.5%. Despite this growth, Latino entrepreneurs often find it challenging to obtain financial support and resources necessary to start their company.
West End Neighborhood House will continue to serve as a resource and is pleased to announce that the Arsht- Cannon Fund recently awarded a grant to the Launcher Entrepreneurship Program. The funding will provide additional technical assistance to the Hispanic/Latino entrepreneurs in order to help them launch and grow their businesses postgraduation.
Dr. Christine Cannon, Executive Director of the Arsht-Cannon Fund at DCF, stated, “I am so pleased to support opportunities for emerging Latino entrepreneurs starting or expanding their small businesses in Wilmington. Their successes will depend on individualized coaching and technical assistance -often in Spanish- once they have completed the bilingual and culturally-designed Entrepreneur Launcher program at West End Neighborhood House. Investments in building Latino-owned small businesses grow the economies of families, communities and our state.”
Will Minster, Launcher’s Program Director, said, “This grant will help others like Angel pursue and achieve their dreams, and we are grateful to partner with the Arsht Cannon Fund.” Launcher is currently accepting applications for Fall 2022 and Spring 2023. For more information, visit, launcherde.org.
About West End Neighborhood House (WENH)
In “Our House,” our staff, clients, volunteers, and donors work together to resolve complex social challenges throughout Delaware. Through our outcomes-driven programming, we provide support that meets each of our customer’s unique needs, whether that be in finances, housing, education, employment, or family services. To learn more about WENH, visit westendnh.org.
About Arsht Cannon Fund
The Arsht-Cannon Fund supports education. Focus areas include the following: language learning and family literacy, pre-k through college preparation and career planning, arts and culture education, health supports to learning, educational advocacy, and community collaborative partnerships. For more information, visit, arshtcannonfund.org.