Puerto Rico delegation to offer products, services in New York
A delegation of Puerto Rico-based entrepreneurs and business executives will travel to New York to participate in the 2024 Puerto Rican Week activities and the 67th edition of the Puerto Rican National parade and on June 7 will join the group of entrepreneurs and merchants participating in the Third Panel Discussion on Empowerment of Communities and Opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are interested in doing business in the Big Apple.
“SMEs are relevant throughout the world because they represent the first step of an entrepreneur, in addition to representing the livelihood of millions of families,” the event’s coordinator Wilson Nazario said. “Studies indicate that 90% of companies worldwide fall into this category. SMEs are reported to house more than 67% of the workforce and are responsible for generating 52% of Puerto Rico’s gross net income.”
“However, SMEs on the island, unlike large companies, face significant challenges to be able to survive, which requires them to constantly review their objectives and goals,” Nazario added.
The Third Panel Discussion on Empowerment of Communities, an event organized by the Graduate Student Association of the Residential Center for Educational Opportunities in Mayagüez, known by its acronym CROEM ALUMNI, will mark its third edition, in which representatives, senators, mayors, trade leaders, entrepreneurs, and artisans will participate.
The event will take place at La Casa de la Herencia Cultural Puertorriqueña in Manhattan, New York.
The Puerto Rico delegation includes: Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC, in Spanish) Secretary Manuel Cidre-Miranda; Economic Development Bank President Luis Alemañy-González; Chamber of Commerce of Spain in Puerto Rico President Ramón González-Simounet; Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce (CofC) President Ramón Pérez-Blanco; Small Business Administration (SBA) district director for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Josué Rivera and Caguas Mayor William Miranda-Torres.
In addition, Puerto Rico Mayors Association President Luis Javier Hernández; Director of the Small Business Development and Technology Center for Puerto Rico (SBTDC) Ivonne Negrón; PR-USA Chamber of Commerce executive officer José Luis Rivera; Senate President José Luis Dalmau-Santiago; House Speaker Rafael “Tatito” Hernández-Montañez; United Retailers Association (CUD, in Spanish) President Lourdes Aponte-Rodríguez, and International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) member Cameron McKenzie, also form part of the Puerto Rico delegation.
For the state and city of New York, Mayor Erick Adams; businessman Nick Lugo (President of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New York), Rafael Salamanca (Councilman of New York’s District 17) and presidents of supermarket and bodega organizations in New York have also been invited to attend the event.
