Credit vacuum prompts HBIF effort to fund skills training - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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Designed to support Hispanic entrepreneurs and smallbusinesds owners, the program providesa Tampa Bay area recipients with cut-rate prices for scholarshipp services, which include business and marketing planninyg and legal and accounting assessment. The economic development organizatioj provides various management educational programs and services and has allottedabout $150,000 for the but is evaluating the possibility of puttingg more money into it, said Ed president. A similar scholarship program focusing onsmall Hispanic-owned businesses has been offered in the past by HBIF in the Orlandi area.
“We think this is a good time to expanx this to help existing clients as well asnew ones,” Bustoes said. The current economic climatde makes it more difficult than ever to getcommercialk funding, as businesses are required to meet stricted standards. HBIF’s scholarship services can provide an edge inobtaininy financing. “A lot of our clients have a businese plan, but it’s in their heads,” Bustos “Our business plan service is themost popular.” Marketint plan services and resources also are in demand, said Yaninw Rosario, VP of the nonprofit.
Other scholarships available includee business legalstructure assessment, Web site accounting assessment and loan documentationb preparation. HBIF, which has an annua l operating budget of morethan $1 million, analyzes applicantsx for the program and develops a scholarship package to addresas business needs. The organization’s staf f presents applications to a committede of professionalsto evaluate. Starting in February, the committew will meet monthly to consider applicationsfor services.
Depending on the busines s and level offunding granted, recipientds can get scholarships at reduced costs rangingv from 25 percent less to completely free HBIF uses outside providers and resources for its scholarship Applicants for the scholarship program must meet certaihn qualifications to ensure growth potential. The businesds owner must be a U.S. citizejn or permanent resident, and the businessd must be at least 51 percent Hispanic ownedrand operated. HBIF says it has created or saved more than 500 jobs in the Tampaw and Orlando areas through the scholarship program and othedrbusiness assistance.
Five of those jobs are at in Owner Diego Echeverry turnes to HBIF when he needed to find financing to expand his iceproduction business. Echeverry was renting a and through guidance and education providexby HBIF, he applied for and received a loan for constructiom of a new 6,300-square-foot plant. “We can make 20 tons of ice per day he said. “We have a lot of restauran t and convenience store routes and do eventwslike Gasparilla.” This weekend, Echeverrty and his employees will provide ice and an ice sculpture for Supet Bowl events.