What we do:
We help Latino entrepreneurs and small businesses in Minnesota launch and grow.
How we do it:
As an organization created by Latinos, for Latinos, we provide classes, workshops, one-on-one assistance, agricultural assistance services, a kitchen incubator, and loans as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).
A thriving multicultural community, enriched with Latino leadership, culture, and economic influence.
To transform our community by creating economic opportunities for Latinos.
We are a Latino serving Loan Fund, certified by the U.S Department of Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and by the Minnesota State Council of OICs, and by OIC America as an Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC).
By joining together as business leaders
Our first project, the Mercado Central, successfully launched in 1999 with the support of many non-profit organizations. From there, the Latino Business Development Center was established to keep working on the formation of LEDC.
With assistance from several local business development organizations, LEDC was incorporated in 2003. With the help of those organizations, LEDC worked to improve technical and leadership skills, leading to successes like the Cooperative Mercado Central, Plaza Latina, and Midtown Global Market.
Realizing that economic progress was imperative to the strength of the Latino community, the founders of LEDC focused its activities on self-sufficiency. Over the years, LEDC has continued to grow, maintaining its core programming and embarking on new initiatives.
