2026 State of Latino Entrepreneurship (SOLE) Summit

The Elban organization held its 11th annual State of Latino Entrepreneurship Summit, a day dedicated to gratitude and community building for entrepreneurs. The event highlighted the crucial role of ecosystem partners, including lead partners like Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Chase, who have provided long-standing support and enabled Elban to expand its programming. The Cerna Foundation was also recognized for its influence on Elban's approach to inclusive economy building and outreach. A significant portion of the day focused on the deep partnership with Stanford University, which co-founded Elban 14-15 years ago. Professor Jerry Porras's vision was instrumental in establishing Elban to leverage Stanford's excellence and connect it to the Latino community. This collaboration focuses on three key areas: research, business programs, and ecosystem building. The research component, led by Deb Whitman at the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, involves extensive annual research on Latinos, producing reports that aim to articulate the community's contributions and challenges. This research is critical for framing a more accurate narrative about the impact of the Latino community on the country. Elban also offers business scaling and startup accelerator programs at Stanford, providing participants with certificates from the Graduate School of Business. These nine-week programs are developed in collaboration with Stanford's Graduate School of Business faculty, and Rania Hill is noted as a key partner in their execution. The third pillar is ecosystem building, aiming to create spaces for entrepreneurs and foster a better entrepreneurial environment. The speaker emphasized that while the Latino community is strong and entrepreneurial, the existing ecosystem often doesn't work for them as effectively as it should. A personal reflection from the speaker highlighted the transformative power of spaces like Stanford for individuals from challenging backgrounds, emphasizing the importance of representation and the potential for Latinos to shape the future. The current moment is acknowledged as difficult for those who don't fit traditional molds, but the speaker pointed to figures like Bad Bunny as examples of centering humanity, dignity, and culture, which represent a "superpower" of building strong communities. The event transitioned to remarks from Stanford trustee emeritus, Victor Adias, who welcomed attendees and underscored the university's commitment to educational excellence and inclusivity since its founding. He highlighted the support from Stanford's administration and past and present trustees. Professor George Foster then discussed the research, emphasizing the importance of qualitative data and real-world case studies to understand entrepreneurs' highs and lows. He shared personal insights into the Latino community through mentoring and family connections, highlighting the resilience and enduring cultural roots. The report's innovation this year included qualitative responses and a deeper dive into venture capital within the Latino community. Jennifer Garcia, COO of Elban, introduced the research findings. Dr. Rosalia Zarate and Dr. Marlene Orozco presented key data from the 11th annual State of Latino Entrepreneurship report. The findings revealed that Latino-owned businesses are growing faster than white-owned businesses in firm and job creation and revenue, driving more net new businesses and jobs than any other major racial ethnic group. Between 2017 and 2023, Latino-owned firms grew by 48%, adding over 180,000 businesses, while white-owned firms declined by 3%. Latino-owned businesses added nearly a million jobs during this period. The report identified a $2.1 trillion economic opportunity if Latino-owned businesses had equitable access to capital and growth opportunities. Consistent themes of inflation, competition, and economic uncertainty were noted, with immigration enforcement emerging as a significant challenge, impacting Latino-owned businesses three times more than white-owned businesses. This enforcement can disrupt workforces and reduce customer foot traffic. The report also examined state-level contributions, finding that Latino-owned businesses are driving net new firm creation in major states like California, Texas, Florida, and New York, offsetting losses in some states. This trend is national, with Latinos outpacing white-owned businesses in 48 states. Growth is observed across diverse sectors, with one in four Latino-owned businesses being in tech, a higher proportion than white-owned businesses. Construction also showed rapid growth. International operations were highlighted, with nearly 50% of Latino businesses operating internationally and reporting higher median profit margins, indicating a strategic approach to growth from day one. A persistent challenge is access to capital. When applying for loans over $1 million, only 22% of Latino entrepreneurs receive the full amount requested, compared to 45% of white-owned businesses. Recent changes in SBA loan requirements are also disproportionately affecting Latino businesses. The venture capital landscape reveals that the biggest gaps for Latino startups are at the early stages, with funding declining significantly since a peak in 2021. Latino startups in AI are also receiving smaller investment checks relative to their share of activity. The discussion then featured Stanford President John Levin and Carolina Giannicelli, Global Head of Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusion at JPMorgan Chase. Giannicelli shared her career journey, emphasizing her personal immigrant experience and her commitment to reducing barriers, not standards, in her role. She highlighted the importance of inclusion and diversity, with opportunity being a byproduct of these principles. JPMorgan Chase's approach involves providing access to resources, tools, and guidance to help small business owners navigate pathways to capital, with trusted advice from bankers being a key asset. Both speakers touched upon the evolving workplace skills, with an emphasis on uniquely human qualities like discernment, empathy, and the ability to build human connections, especially in the age of AI. The importance of a broad skill set, adaptability, and problem-solving abilities, akin to those of entrepreneurs, was stressed for future career success. The event concluded with a look ahead to the afternoon's panel discussions and the evening's gala. Attendees were encouraged to use the event app or their name badges for schedules and to refer business owners looking to grow and scale their companies. The overarching message was one of collective action and the significant economic opportunity presented by supporting Latino entrepreneurship.