New chamber is open for business in South Bay

Will help Latino entrepreneurs in Spanish

CHULA VISTA – The timing seemed right.

More and more people from Mexico were launching businesses in San Diego County, particularly in South Bay.

And even in a deep recession, Latino residents were taking the plunge and opening all types of businesses.

But many of these fledgling entrepreneurs were not familiar with how business gets done in the United States -- and many are not fluent in English.

They needed help to get started or to grow.

On Wednesday night, an organization was introduced to do just that.

It's called the Cámara de Negocios México-Americana, or Canemexa for short. A standing-room-only crowd of about 200 celebrated its arrival in the patio of a restaurant in Bonita.

The chamber was developed by three veteran businessmen and activists – Patrick Osio, Jesse Navarro and Hector Molina, the latter who serves as its first president.

The chamber's geographic focus is from the San Diego neighborhood of City Heights to the border, a wide area where a majority of the population is Latino.

Developed a few months ago, the chamber already has more than 100 members, Molina said.

The group's goals are to help members enhance their professional skills, understand U.S. local, state and federal laws that impact businesses, and provide them with information to better manage and promote their business and grow revenue. All done through events, seminars and workshops held in Spanish.

Several public officials turned out for the chamber's launching, including the mayors of Chula Vista and National City and Mexico's counsel-general in San Diego, Remedios Gómez Arnau. In a mix of Spanish and English, they spoke of why the agency's mission was crucial for the regional economy and beyond, particularly during a stubborn recession.

"Latino businesses in California generate $57 billion in sales receipts annually," said Assemblyman Ben Hueso, D-San Diego. "They are very important to the state's economy."

Ruben Garcia, the San Diego administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, noted that 40 per cent of the businesses in San Diego and Imperial counties were owned by Latinos.

"And the fastest-growing segment of new small business owners across the country are Latinas," he added.

Garcia said that his agency was developing a plan to work together with Canemexa to create more business opportunities.

Rodrigo Domenzain shared his story with the crowd.

He's the owner of Amar Hidroponia, a Mexico City-based company that uses hydroponics to grow tomatoes, habanero chiles and lettuce in rural communities and then sells them across the country. He wanted to establish a firm in San Diego County, from where he could market his produce to Southern California and beyond, but did not know what to do.

He spent months researching through the Internet to find a way to expand into the United States but got nowhere.

Then he contacted Canemexa, where one of the board members got busy.

"In 40 minutes I got all the information I needed," he told the crowd, whose members applauded. "And within 48 hours I had incorporated and was ready for business."

He's already looking beyond his original goal: He's planning to give classes on hydroponics to local residents.

He thanked the chamber for taking his call just days earlier and staying with him on the phone until he had everything he needed. He said it was the right time to open such chamber.

"This is the start of something very important."

Aida.bustos@sandiegored.com

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