NEW YORK - Columbia Business School announced today that Santander Bank, N.A., through its Santander Universities program, has pledged more than $850,000 to support the training and development of entrepreneurs in Latin America and New York City.
The funding will be directed specifically to two prestigious and landmark entrepreneurship programs at Columbia Business School: the Columbia-Harlem Small Business Development Center (CH-SBDC), which will continue to support entrepreneurs and small businesses as they resume, recover and become more resilient in one of the hardest hit COVID-19 pandemic areas of New York City; and the Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness in Latin America Program (ECLA), which has long enjoyed support from Santander.
“We are thrilled and grateful to renew our partnership with Santander as its ongoing support has been so crucial to the success of the program. The pandemic brought tremendous challenges to the execution of the program and, beyond that, COVID-19 has hit the Latin American region hard, especially small and medium-size businesses,” said Angela Quintero, Director of the ECLA program at Columbia Business School. “Over the past year we have collaborated with Santander to adapt and to bring enhanced help to our entrepreneurs working to navigate the crisis. As a result of these efforts, our current class will graduate this June and we are ready and excited to start assembling the next one. Now more than ever, Santander’s support of the program will ensure our ability to continue delivering positive impact in the region, creating jobs and generating value.”
“We are incredibly grateful to Santander for extending its support of entrepreneurs here at Columbia Business School,” said Kaaryn Nailor-Simmons, director of the CH-SBDC. “Small business owners regularly seek out the CH-SBDC for guidance on a wide range of business strategy and operations issues, and this support will allow us to bring a new dynamic to those who participate in the Center’s activities.”
“These programs are giving students valuable work experience outside the classroom and preparing them to be future leaders, while supporting small business owners and entrepreneurs who are creating jobs and strengthening their local economies,” said Yajaira Lopez, Santander Bank Region President. “We are pleased that our Santander Universities program is continuing to support the important work of Columbia Business School, especially now, when business owners and students need our support more than ever.”
About the Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness in Latin America (ECLA) Program
The ECLA Program was launched in 2010 exclusively for CEOs and founders of mid-sized Latin American companies seeking specialized training to expand their businesses and compete in today’s changing global environment. Housed in the School’s Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business, the program delivers a well-rounded curriculum taught by Columbia’s premier faculty from across many disciplines.
Over a 13-month period, the program combines classroom and online training, implemented projects guided by faculty members, and one international study tour to provide an unparalleled curricular and community experience. By harnessing local entrepreneurs’ innate creativity and energy and combining it with a curated and well-rounded curriculum delivered by one of the world’s most prestigious MBA programs, the ECLA Program has become a crucible for growth, expansion, and success across borders throughout Latin America and beyond.
To learn more, please visit https://www.gsb.columbia.edu/ecla.
About the Columbia-Harlem Small Business Development Center
The CH-SBDC serves small business owners and entrepreneurs in Upper Manhattan. Since its launch in 2009, the CH-SBDC has built a powerful reputation among its constituent community as the go-to provider of high- impact training workshops, unique entrepreneurial education programs, and highly effective one- to-one counseling.
Each year, the CH-SBDC delivers a compelling array of programs and services to more than 400 small business clients that invest more than $6 million into the local economy and generate or save over 300 jobs.
More recently, the CH-SBDC has opened its doors to clients of other New York City SBDCs for programs including a Pitch Workshop Series and Competition — broadening its impact even further and establishing itself as a leader in the City’s technical support provider community. The Center recently celebrated a milestone in its remarkable trajectory when it earned the top overall SBDC rating among the eight SBDCs serving New York City.
To learn more, please visit https://www.gsb.columbia.edu/sbdc.
About Santander Bank
Santander Bank, N.A. is one of the country’s largest retail and commercial banks with $89.5 billion in assets. With its corporate offices in Boston, the Bank’s approximately 9,200 employees and more than 3 million customers are principally located in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
The Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Madrid-based Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: SAN) - one of the most respected banking groups in the world with more than 148 million customers in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. It is overseen by Santander Holdings USA, Inc., Banco Santander’s intermediate holding company in the U.S.
For more information on Santander Bank, please visit www.santanderbank.com.
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