State launches training for immigrant entrepreneurs

The Westchester Hispanic Coalition in White Plains next month will host one of the first in a statewide series of immigrant entrepreneurship training seminars recently launched by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

More than 100 training seminars will be held this year throughout the state to help immigrants start and grow businesses. The program is run jointly by the state Office for New Americans, Empire State Development”™s Entrepreneurial Assistance Program and the New York State Small Business Development Centers.

State officials said the courses will provide budding and current immigrant entrepreneurs an overview of starting, running and growing a business. Participants will be assessed as to their level of business knowledge at the end of the seminar. Based on their knowledge, experience and standing in the business startup and growth process, participants are offered follow-up one-on-one business coaching sessions or a more intensive multiweek course. At the end of either track, individuals will have completed a business plan or portfolio and gain access to various federal, state and private small-business loan programs.

The first Westchester seminar will be at 4 p.m. May 5 at the Westchester Hispanic Coalition office at 46 Waller Ave. in White Plains. To register, call 914-948-8466.

Seminar dates will be posted on the New York State Office for New Americans website. Advance registration is required.

State officials when announcing the new program cited an Immigration Policy Center report that found that 31.2 percent of all business owners in the state in 2010 were foreign-born. That number rises to 36 percent in the New York City metropolitan area.

Immigrant-owned businesses had a total net business income of $12.6 billion in 2010, representing 22.6 percent of all net business income in the state. New York’s immigrants are responsible for $229 billion in annual economic output.