PORTLAND, Ore. — A Portland food company is giving back to the Hispanic community for Hispanic Heritage month. The owner of Brazi Bites, Junea Rosha, will be helping other Latino entrepreneurs expand their businesses.
"Representation is important across the board. To know that you can be in a leadership role, that you can run a company, that you can do it,” Rosha said. “You know, people that look like you, that sound like you, that have your background. It just gives you that confidence that you can achieve more."
Brazi Bites are a bun-like cheese bread that's incredibly popular in Brazil — and has taken the food business by storm locally and nationwide.
As of 2021, Hispanic entrepreneurs make up more than 4.65 million business owners in the United States, a number that looks to be steadily growing.
“We here at Brazi Bites understand the challenges of growing a business from the ground up and it is hard,” Rosha said. “And we wanted to support and help uplift entrepreneurs."
That's why Rosha created the Brazi Bites Latino Entrepreneur Accelerator Program.
To qualify, businesses that apply must be acting, up-and-running companies that are based in the U.S., make less than $1 million in revenue and be a consumer packaged goods company.
“We're looking for a very passionate entrepreneur with a great product, entrepreneurs that are willing to work hard and go the extra mile and really believe in what they're doing," Rosha said.
Rosha and her team will pick the winning applicant and award them a $10,000 grant, with no strings attached, alongside a 12-week mentorship program.
"Taking lessons learned from other entrepreneurs is very valuable,” Rosha said. “So we are going to take resources from here at Brazi Bites, myself and my amazing team of industry experts to support the entrepreneur."
You can click here to apply.