Progressive Insurance announced that it recently launched the Driving Small Business Forward grant program in support of Hispanic entrepreneurs.

Small business owners can apply to receive one of 10 $25,000 grants for use toward the purchase of a commercial vehicle for their business.

In the announcement, Progressive cited a late 2021 McKinsey & Company report, “The economic state of Latinos in America: The American dream deferred,” stating that Hispanic entrepreneurs start more businesses per capita than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States, yet they face more challenges getting loans or capital from the investment community.

“As the insurer to thousands of small business owners, Progressive understands the unique challenges faced by entrepreneurs and is committed to providing solutions to help meet their needs,” said Karen Bailo, Commercial Lines President at Progressive Insurance in a media statement. “It is our hope that this program will make a material impact for the selected business owners and help propel their small business journey.”

In order to be considered, eligible small businesses must:

• Be majority (51%+) owned and operated by Hispanic-identifying entrepreneur(s)
• Have 10 or less employees
• Have less than $5 million in annual gross revenue
• Have a demonstrated need for a commercial vehicle

Progressive is partnering with business accelerator Hello Alice to administrate the grant program.

Hello Alice, a Latina-owned company founded by Carolyn Rodz and Elizabeth Gore, is a free, multichannel platform that helps businesses launch and grow. With a community of over 600,000 business owners in all 50 states and across the globe, Hello Alice is building a network of owners while tracking data and trends to increase the success rate for entrepreneurs.

Hello Alice partners include enterprise business services, government agencies, and institutions looking to serve small- and medium-business owners to ensure increased revenues and promote scale.

Source: Progressive Insurance