Celebrating Hispanic business success

Prospera held signature special event to recognize local clients for their success

ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Prospera, an economic development non-profit organization, hosted its traditional Hispanic Heritage Month event in Central Florida. Presented by OUC, after two years of virtual events, the 2022 Prospera Success Stories Event: Stronger Than Before fulfilled the objective of bringing together the organization's main collaborators in person to recognize the Hispanic entrepreneurial spirit and highlight the success and growth of select clients since they began their journey with Prospera.

The event featured five stories that showed how the pandemic tested the capacity of each entrepreneur and how they each became stronger than before:

• Elena Araque and Laura Maccain, AC Techi - Honoree Video 
• Jeniffer Salas and Marlon Mora, M&J Renovation Group LLC – Honoree Video
• Pablo Prahl and Jennifer Herrera, A&G Marketing by Proforma – Honoree Video
• Luis Perez and Nancy Rosario, Tasty Lemon – Honoree Video
• Lillianis Cruz, Hope Behavioral Health – Honoree Video

Likewise, a special group of clients who have made generous donations to Prospera's mission, to benefit fellow entrepreneurs, were recognized:

• Esteban Garcia, owner of Nebbia Technology, A New Signature Company
• Yanet & Arnaldo Herrero, owner of Kings Service Solutions
• Ruben Perez, owner of Zaza Cuban Comfort Food and Perez of Florida
• Lucelis Torres, owner of Orlando Montessori Bilingual Academy

The 2022 Prospera Success Stories: Stronger Than Before was led by Prospera Central Florida Regional Vice President Katia Medina. The program provided the opportunity to show funders, volunteers, and executive leaders the growth of local Hispanic entrepreneurs and how Prospera helped them reach new milestones. Prospera also shared recent accomplishments of the organization to its top stakeholders in the region, such as regional 30-year economic analysis results and its expansion to the Jacksonville metro area. In addition, guests listened to remarks by Andy Stoll, Senior Program Officers of Entrepreneurship at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

"Prospera and OUC share a common interest in making our community a better place to live and work," said OUC Vice President of Customer Experience and Sales Luz Aviles. "On behalf of OUC, I look forward to continuing to work with all of you to build strong Hispanic-owned businesses that benefit our community now and in the future."

The event was also presented with the support of the following sponsors:

• Presenter: OUC The Reliable One
• Hosts: Bank of America, Florida Blue, Heart of Florida United Way, Orlando Health, Orlando Magic, Truist, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts and Wells Fargo
• Champions: JPMorgan Chase, Plaza del Sol, The Trentham Santiago Group and University of Central Florida
• Leaders: AT&T, TD Bank, Travel & Leisure, Valencia College, Waste Management and Zaza Cuban Comfort Food

Prospera is a non-profit economic development organization that since 1991 has specialized in providing bilingual assistance to Hispanic entrepreneurs who want to start, strengthen or boost their businesses. In the past five years, Prospera has managed more than $61 million in small business loans, trained more than 18,000 entrepreneurs, and helped consulting clients gain or retain more than 16,000 jobs. Currently, Prospera offers services in Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia. For more information, visit prosperausa.org.

Media Contact: Katia Medina, 407-428-5872, [email protected]

SOURCE Prospera