Hispanics account for over 25 per cent of the population of Collier County. Recognizing the size of this segment, and through the generosity of Fifth Third Bank and a newly formed relationship with the Media Vista Group, SCORE Naples has embarked on a major effort to bring its business expertise and support to the underserved Latino community in Collier County. “We are seeking to reach and help small businesses in the Naples and Immokalee areas by bringing our free services directly to this growing Hispanic community” said Chick Heithaus, chairman of the SCORE Naples Chapter.

 With a Hispanic population of approximately 212,000, the Fort Myers–Naples-Marco area is now the fastest growing Hispanic market in the nation, growing by 85% during 2000-2007. SCORE Naples has recently reached out to Hispanic businesses and entrepreneurs by instituting Spanish-speaking workshops and offering six qualified bilingual counselors to build a full program in 2010. The effort is headed by Janis Vargas, a SCORE counselor and local business entrepreneur. With the help of Fifth Third and other prospective banks and businesses, a platform will be created for SCORE Naples to sponsor many of the Chapter’s events and workshops specifically designed to serve Hispanic small businesses.

 Help also will be provided by the Media Vista Group, which reaches its audience via TV (Azteca America), its magazine (D’Latinos), and its web site (dlatinos.tv),.to promote many of the Chapter’s events and workshops specifically designed to serve Hispanic small businesses.

 Since the inception of this initiative, SCORE Naples has presented two workshops conducted exclusively in Spanish, and participated in a joint outreach “E-bus” event with Fifth Third that was held in Immokalee. “The creative potential and industrious work ethic of Latinos brings a powerful resource to the economic health of our city and we at SCORE aim to tap that potential”, said Ms. Vargas. She added that the Initiative has already shown results in terms of double-digit growth in counseling, compared with last year.