Organizations will provide free resources to underserved Latina entrepreneurs to help their businesses thrive
SurveyMonkey, a leader in agile software solutions for customer experience, market research, and survey feedback, today announced a partnership with the Eva Longoria Foundation (ELF) to provide Latina entrepreneurs free resources to help their businesses succeed. Part of the SurveyMonkey for Good program, the partnership with ELF will provide Latina entrepreneurs access to SurveyMonkey products, and training modules focused on three key topics: survey basics and best practices, market research, and customer loyalty.
“Our goal is to provide access to technology and resources to a community of entrepreneurs that are severely underserved and under-resourced at a time when they need it most,” said Antoine Andrews, chief diversity and social impact officer at SurveyMonkey. “We’re excited to get this off the ground. This announcement is just the first step of a broader program focused on providing training, mentorship, resources, and access to investment for underserved entrepreneurs.”
During this initial pilot program, a group of 60 Latina entrepreneurs will have access to SurveyMonkey licenses, with live virtual training offered in both English and Spanish. The entrepreneurs identified these resources as most helpful to their businesses in a survey conducted with the group. The engagement will last one year, ensuring ongoing support as the entrepreneurs continue to adjust to pandemic-induced challenges. The Eva Longoria Foundation and SurveyMonkey will evaluate feedback from participants and improve upon the partnership and future related offerings from SurveyMonkey for Good.
In 2012, the Eva Longoria Foundation was created to help Latina women and girls build better lives for themselves through education and entrepreneurship. ELF focuses on these areas because both have the power to transform lives, and Latinas have distinctly unique challenges accessing both. ELF believes that by providing Latinas with the resources to succeed in school and business, we can help empower the broader Latinx community.
“Latina entrepreneurs—who start businesses at six times the national rate—need access: access to capital and inclusive financial services, access to expanded networks, and access to flexible training and capacity-building services,” said Eva Longoria. “Before the pandemic, 89% of new women-owned businesses were started by women of color—there’s a huge opportunity to help these entrepreneurs collect the data and access the resources they need to build and grow their businesses, and we’re proud to help make that possible.”
Recent data from the Q1 2021 CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey shows that fewer than four in 10 Hispanic small business owners (37%) say their business will survive less than a year under the current business conditions. In addition, a total of 69% of Hispanic small business owners describe current conditions for their business as either bad or middling. 74% of Hispanic small business owners referenced that they did not receive a loan as part of the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), compared to 64% of whites.
To learn more about how you can support entrepreneurs contact SurveyMonkey for Good at [email protected].
In 2012, actress and activist Eva Longoria Bastón started the Eva Longoria Foundation to help Latinas build better futures for themselves and their families through education and entrepreneurship. To date, the Eva Longoria Foundation has impacted more than 30,000 Latinas in the United States and Mexico through programs in STEM education, college scholarships, mentorship, parent engagement, microloans and business training. Visit evalongoriafoundation.org for more information.
