Expo to Focus on Latino-Owned Firms

The growing number of Latino businesses in the Inland Empire can learn about expansion, financing, e-commerce, procurement and international trade at Hispanic Lifestyle Magazine’s fourth annual Inland Empire Small Business Expo on Friday.

The expo, to be held at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, will feature 70 exhibitors, as well as seminars and a keynote address on commerce between Mexico and the Inland Empire by Mexican consul Juan Jose Salgado.

Some of the region’s largest and fastest-growing Latino-owned businesses are located in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, where the number of Latino entrepreneurs grew to an estimated 48,000 last year.

Seminars are free at the expo, presented in conjunction with the Small Business Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce and the Inland Empire Small Business Development Center.

Hispanic Lifestyle Magazine will also recognize the Inland Empire’s top 25 Latino-owned businesses. Topping that list is Complas Inc., a Corona telecommunications equipment and sales company with $131 million in annual revenue. The company is listed as the 24th-largest Latino-owned enterprise in the country by Hispanic Business Magazine. In the No. 2 position in the Inland Empire is Ontario-based Cardenas Markets, with $75 million in annual revenue.

Cost of the luncheon is $25. For more information, call (909) 328-1385 or visit https://www.hispaniclifestyle.com.

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Marla Dickerson can be reached at marla.dickerson@latimes.com, and Lee Romney at lee.romney@latimes.com.