Commentary from RGV StartUp Week's 'Shaping Tomorrow’s Leaders' panel

Rio Grande Guardian's Podcast

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The City of Harlingen and Harlingen Economic Development Corporation are working hard to make sure access to capital is not a barrier for budding entrepreneurs in the city.

This was the message Harlingen Mayor Norma Sepulveda gave when she appeared as a panelist at RGV StartUp Week.

The weeklong event, held at the eBridge Center for Business & Commercialization, was designed to foster and celebrate entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as help startup businesses in the Rio Grande Valley.

“I know one of the biggest barriers is capital. And so having conversations and having workshops and having conferences such as this… to be able to provide that opportunity, to make those connections, so that they (budding entrepreneurs and are able to access the capital, so that they can get to do the actual work that they need to get done is important and crucial,” Sepulveda said.

“And I know that that is a concern in our community. And… we'll have more discussions but through our EDC, we have been really focused on that to ensure that access to capital is not a barrier for entrepreneurs.”

Sepulveda was a panel with Daniella Lopez Valdez, executive director of the Mitte Cultural District and vice president of Brownsville ISD board of trustees, state Rep. Erin Elizabeth Gámez of Brownsville, and Ron Garza, associate vice president of workforce and economic development at UT-Rio Grande Valley. The panel discussion was titled “Shaping Tomorrow’s Leaders.”

The event was co-hosted by the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation and UTRGV’s Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Center.

Sepulveda said she was at a conference recently with officials from UTRGV. She said it was “mind-blowing” to learn that 99 percent of all businesses in the U.S. are considered small.

“It is truly important for us to foster that entrepreneurial spirit within every single person, whether it be in our communities, at the state level, at the federal level, it is our future as a country. So, I think it is it's truly vital,” Sepulveda said.

“And in terms of the future, I think I think that it is incumbent upon all of us to ensure that we are providing the resources available for all entrepreneurs to be able to reach their potential.”

In her remarks, Lopez Valdez pointed out that Brownsville ISD is the largest employer in the city, with 6,000 employees.

“We have 38,000 kids and we are making sure that in our career and technology center… 79 percent of our kids actually graduate with a career path that is (connected) to what going on in the local economy.”

Lopez Valdez said BISD has a lot of great partnerships with local stakeholders. She said Lopez High School will have the first pipe fitting class thanks to a partnership with a local company. “We're making sure that our students are prepared,” Lopez Valdez said.

Here is a podcast featuring some of the remarks of Sepulveda and Lopez Valdez from the panel discussion.

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