AnewAmerica Corporation is an innovative, non-profit organization that’s been rooted in San Francisco for the last 14 years. Their mission is to offer “social empowerment” and encourage immigrant entrepreneurship to the residents housed within the nine-counties of the San Francisco Bay area.
The organization was founded by a group of community leaders from San Francisco back in 1999. The leaders saw a need for social, cultural, economic, and business education within the immigration sector.
Latino and Asian immigrants represent the largest group of new Americans in California: “Current studies show that one quarter of foreign-born Latino and Southeast Asian individuals in California live at or below the poverty line.” (source)
Their “Business Incubator” program offers new immigrants from all walks of life a chance to learn the skills needed to succeed in America, thereby adding jobs to the community and reducing the prevalence of crime in low-income areas. Participants are taught how to successfully build a new small or micro-business, or to expand upon one they already own.
The Business Incubator program teaches high-energy, motivated immigrants and refugees how to break through the personal, business, and financial barriers that exist to them in creating a business in America. This initiative is accomplished via the organization’s 3-year “holistic” program. Their proven system incorporates in-class training sessions, and real-world mentoring programs that point the participant in the direction of success.
First generation immigrants are starting new businesses at a 27% higher rate than natural-born Americans, as discussed in this recent Forbes.com article:
The biggest barrier that exists to new Americans who want to start their own business – aside from lack of assets – is a lack of a cultural integration: there are 38 million immigrants and refugees in this country, many of which are struggling to make a life here because they don’t understand how the culture works. The lack of cultural training makes it nearly impossible for them to build or expand their business outside the confines of their tight-knit communities.
Rebekah Lwanga Peterkin, owner of Lwanga Designs, is one of the many success stories to come out of the organization’s program over the last decade. She started her business, which makes and sells African clothing (using fabrics made by Ugandan villagers) after she completed her training and mentoring at the Berkeley non-profit.
Peterkin had this to say about her experience:
“AnewAmerica gave me the perspective to look at myself as a designer,” she said. “All those years, I was always designing on the side. But I didn’t know about American business. I started their class and began to learn about it.” (see the sfgate.com article for more about Peterkin and AnewAmerica.)
Nearly 1200 people graduate from the Incubator program each year. Thirty of those graduates will speak at AnewAmerica’s celebration expo, held atop the Kaiser Center in Oakland California, on August 29, 2013. The event will take place from 6:00 – 9:00pm, and will feature discussions about the organization, their success stories, Q&A sessions, and much more. The event will also feature a speech from CEO, Viola Gonzales, and other community leaders who’re attached to the project.
Tickets are still available for those who wish to attend. Visit their site to reserve your seat:
http://www.anewamerica.org/events/77-save-the-date-august-29th-expo-a-celebration
Image courtesy of: http://cristoreystmartin.org/
