Impacto Celebration: Uplifting Hispanic Business Owners

Last night, From The Bronx’s Anthony and Paul Ramirez had an incredible evening at Accion Opportunity Fund’s Business Accelerator Networking Event! What made it so incredible? We got to take a break from work and spend a few hours chatting up awesome entrepreneurs from across all 5 boroughs.

PICTURED (From L to R): Impacto Celebration Flyer, Info Sheet

In 2020, The PepsiCo Foundation launched The Impacto Hispanic Business Accelerator, designed to connect Hispanic food entrepreneurs with learning and networking opportunities, plus some grant capital to supercharge their businesses. Shoutout to Accion Opportunity Fund for the invitation to last night's event and for being one of PepsiCo Foundation’s nonprofit partners and a host of the Impacto program.

The evening was a mix of mingling with fellow entrepreneurs, learning more about the Impacto Hispanic Business Accelerator, and catching a fireside chat with Accion Opportunity Fund’s CEO Luz Urrutia and Chef Grace Ramirez (no relation, but still awesome). What a night!

PICTURED (FROM L TO R): Paul Ramirez, Grace Ramirez & Anthony Ramirez II, Luz Urrutia & Grace Ramirez

Chef Grace Ramirez is a powerhouse with a heart of gold. From stealing the spotlight in TV shows at the Food Network to lending a helping hand with World Central Kitchen during disasters like Hurricane Maria and the Venezuelan & Colombian Migrant Crisis, Grace is all about making a difference.

When the pandemic hit, she kicked it up a notch, dishing out over 100,000 meals daily to frontline warriors and New York residents. Her game-changing work prevented 250 restaurants from closing and delivered a whopping 9.5 million meals to people in need. It’s no wonder she was hailed as a COVID Hero by the NYC and teamed up with the United Nations to champion the Chefs’ Manifesto. Talk about a chef with a mission!

Thanks again to Accion Opportunity Fund for having us and to Chef Grace Ramirez for sharing her incredible story and all the amazing work she does in The Bronx and beyond.

To learn more about the Accion Opportunity Fund, visit https://aofund.org

To learn more about Chef Grace Ramirez, visit https://chefgraceramirez.com/

From The Bronx to The World!!