Highlighting Excellence: Celebrating Hispanic-Owned, Small Businesses

Prospera event recognizes clients and collaboration in local entrepreneurial ecosystem

ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Prospera hosted its annual signature event, presented by OUC, at the Orlando Museum of Art. Stakeholders of the nonprofit, economic development organization gathered at the 2023 Prospera Success Stories: Synergy for Progress to raise funds for the mission, celebrate successful local small business owners who have received Prospera's assistance, and showcase entrepreneurial ecosystem collaborations.

These successful entrepreneurs, whose stories illustrate synergy for progress, were recognized:

• Milna Maldonado & Ricardo Martinez, co-owners of Prime Services LLC
• Samantha Senf, owner of Samantha's Walls
• Lorena Martinez & Luis Ramirez, co-owners of Daisy's Events Rentals

City of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings delivered remarks in support of Prospera and the local Hispanic community. The program, led by Prospera Central & Northeast Florida Vice President Katia Medina, highlighted the impact of Prospera's services on small businesses and local entrepreneurship for funders, volunteers, partners, and other local leaders. In addition to recognizing successful clients, partner organizations were showcased for collaborating with Prospera to provide complementary resources to Hispanic small business owners.

"Our region remains an example of the synergy between the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, which is critical for a strong ecosystem," said Medina. "We represent a diverse group, each with a unique role, united by a common purpose – to foster small business and entrepreneurship for the greater good of Central Florida."

"We all build a stronger economy and community when we collaborate and focus together on large, medium, and small businesses; on early stage and advanced businesses; on industry diversification, greater access to capital, and more equitable procurement opportunities," added Prospera President & CEO Augusto Sanabria.

Prospera Board Chair Luz Aviles addressed the audience of stakeholders, sharing some of the organization's accomplishments and areas of focus.  "We will continue leveraging private and public support, and engaging our volunteers, to maximize your contributions and maintain our incredible return on investment—historically, $184 in economic output for every dollar donated to Prospera," stated Aviles.

In addition to Presenting Sponsor OUC, the event was made possible thanks to the following sponsors:

• Hosts: Bank of America, Duke Energy, Heart of Florida United Way, Orlando Health, Orlando Magic, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, and Wells Fargo
• Champions: Akerman, CITY Furniture, Florida Technical College, Hispanic Federation, JPMorgan Chase, Plaza del Sol, Suncoast Credit Union, TD Bank, TSG Financial Advisors, Truist, and Valencia College

Prospera is an economic development, nonprofit organization that has specialized since 1991 in providing bilingual assistance to Hispanic entrepreneurs who want to start, sustain, and grow their business. In the last five years alone, Prospera facilitated over $70 million in loans for small business clients, trained 17,300 entrepreneurs, and helped consulting clients create or retain more than 16,000 jobs. Prospera currently serves Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia. For more information, visit www.prosperausa.org.

Media Contact: Katia Medina, (407) 920-4201, [email protected]

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SOURCE Prospera