CALIPATRIA — On Monday, April 27, 16 residents of the Imperial Valley officially graduated from the Asociación de Emprendedor@s Entrepreneurship Training Program in partnership with The Becoming Project, with the support of Comite Civico del Valle and the Latino Community Foundation — marking the second group to complete the eight-week, Spanish-language business education course. The graduation ceremony was hosted at The Becoming Project in Calipatria.
The program equips local residents — many of whom are first-time entrepreneurs, Spanish-speaking, and living in an underserved region of the county — with the tools to launch, operate, and grow their own small businesses. In addition to entrepreneurship training, participants also receive financial literacy instruction to help them manage and build on their success.
The course launched its first week of March 2026. Designed to run twice a year, the program responds to the growing demand among north Imperial County residents who operate home-based businesses and are ready to take their ventures into the broader community. Organizers say that as long as people want to open businesses and need an opportunity, the program will be there to help.
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Offered entirely in Spanish, the program serves residents living near the U.S.-Mexico border who may not have had access to business education in English. Graduates learned how to obtain licenses and permits, develop their business from the ground up, and identify pathways to sustainable income for their households.
