The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) is the largest

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

business organization in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

. The chamber promotes the economic growth and development of

entrepreneurs Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

and represents the interests of nearly 4.7 million Hispanic owned businesses in the US that contribute in excess of $700 billion to the American economy. It serves as the

umbrella organization An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

for more than 250 local

chambers Chambers may refer to: Places Canada: *Chambers Township, Ontario United States: *Chambers County, Alabama * Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County * Chambers, Nebraska * Chambers, West Virginia * Chambers Township, Hol ...

and business associations in the United States and

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. Additionally, it

advocates An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

for the 259 major American companies who are its supporting members. The association is

bipartisan Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find co ...

. It regularly invites public officials and political candidates from both sides of the

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...

to present to its members.

Studies

In September 2015, the chamber and the business intelligence firm, Geoscape, released a study showing that Hispanic businesses grew at an annual rate of 7.5% between 2012 and 2015, "which is 15 times faster than the .5% percent growth rate for all companies." Since 2007, the number of Hispanic-owned businesses increased by 57% to 4.07 million, and revenues at these companies grew by 88% to roughly $660 billion.

Annual National Convention

Each year, the chamber hosts its national convention and business expo. This is the country's largest networking venue for Hispanic businesses and Fortune 1000 corporations interested in the Hispanic market. The four-day convention affords Hispanic vendors and corporate buyers the opportunity to establish partnerships; provides sessions and discussions about business development, chamber training, innovative trends and solutions; and focuses on current issues that impact the Hispanic entrepreneur. The 2015 convention, held in

Houston, TX Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

, had 6,000 people in attendance.

Annual Legislative Summit

Each year during the session of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

, the chamber hosts its annual Legislative Summit. The summit provides chamber members, Hispanic business leaders, and corporate executives the opportunity to discuss legislative policy issues that impact the small business community. Hispanic chamber executives also use the opportunity to meet with their Congressional representatives. In addition, every two years, the chamber issues its Legislative Policy and Priorities to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

and Congress.

Annual Energy Summit

In April 2022 the USHCC hosted their first ever Energy Summit in

Santa Fe, NM Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label= Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. The name “S ...

. The summit expands the reach of the organization's convention by allowing Hispanic business leaders and executives to discuss energy policy and issues affecting the energy sector in the 21st century. The summit focuses both on natural and renewable resources with focus on the sustainability of both. The inagural summit featured partnerships with notable energy companies like PNM and

AVANGRID Avangrid, Inc. (formerly Energy East and Iberdrola USA), is an energy services and delivery company. AVANGRID serves about 3.1 million customers throughout New England, Pennsylvania and New York in the United States. History In 2008 Iberdrola ...

. Notable Panelists include former Commissioner of the

Public Utility Commission of Texas The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC or PUCT) is a state agency that regulates the state’s electric, water and telecommunication utilities, implements respective legislation, and offers customer assistance in resolving consumer complaints ...

Rolando Pablos and Lea Márquez Peterson Current Commissioner on the

Arizona Corporation Commission The Arizona Corporation Commission is the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Arizona, established by Article 15 of the Arizona Constitution. Arizona is one of only fourteen states with elected commissioners. The Arizona Constitution expli ...

References

External links