Two Latin American chambers of commerce in Atlanta are teaming up to build business ties between their members.
The Latin American Chamber of Commerce of Georgia signed an agreement on July 23 with the Ecuadorian-American Chamber of Commerce of Georgia at the latter’s annual trade and tourism expo.
While the groups have similar objectives and share some common members, their networks are mostly different, said Alejandro Coss, president of the Latin American chamber, formerly the Mexican American Business Chamber. The agreement will promote the sharing of knowledge and contacts.
“The bottom line is that it opens the door for two organizations to work together and create more opportunities for our members to connect,” Mr. Coss told GlobalAtlanta.
Latin American businesspeople in Atlanta operate in a few overlapping arenas, he said. Some conduct business overseas with their country of ancestry. Others import products or operate shops targeting the growing Latino market in Atlanta. Some mix the two.
Working with the Ecuadorian chamber could benefit companies looking to source products from the South American country, he said.
Especially with food, buyers aren’t necessarily looking for products from their home country. Many companies import from Colombia, Mexico, Peru and elsewhere to reach a diverse Latino market here. A local Mexican restaurant owner could import Ecuadorian shrimp or fish, for instance, Mr. Coss said.
“At the end of the day, business is business,” and building a base of customers is more important than worrying about their nationality, he said.
Case in point: the Latin American chamber last year signed a cooperative agreement with a local Korean chamber, since many Korean shop owners buy from Latino wholesalers.
About two-thirds of the Latin American chamber’s nearly 1,000 members do business locally, while the other one-third work internationally. The chamber tries to cater to both groups and mix the local market with members’ global connections.
“We’re very focused on the two sides, the binational international business with Latin America but also with the Latino-owned businesses in Georgia,” Mr. Coss said.
Founded in 1998 as the Mexican-American Business Chamber, the organization changed its name this year to reflect the fact that its mission had broadened along with Atlanta’s Latin American community. Georgia is home to more than 850,000 Latinos, nearly 9 percent of the population.
The Latin America chamber has a partner organization in Charlotte that focuses on a similar demographic in North Carolina. Together they make up the Latin American Chamber of Commerce of the Southeast.
For more information on the Ecuadorian American Chamber of Commerce of Georgia, visit www.eaccg.org.
For more on the Latin-American Chamber of Commerce of Georgia, visit www.mexicanchamber.org.
