Multicultural Business and Entrepreneur Center (MBEC)
What Fort Collins Business Owners and the Community Need to Know
The City of Fort Collins created the Multicultural Business and Entrepreneur Center (MBEC) in an effort to find an effective way to help underserved groups’ businesses grow and succeed.
The MBEC provides multilingual support to small businesses in the Fort Collins community, especially those owned by entrepreneurs of color, women or Hispanics, that do not have the same access to resources, technical assistance, or the social network of support that other groups have.
All services at the MBEC are free and open to all.
Our Service to the Community
At the MBEC, we are committed to helping small business owners of the Fort Collins community succeed. We work with local businesses to help them become more diverse and inclusive and offer a variety of programs and resources designed to help minority entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses, including:
Providing access to business service providers, resources, mentorship, and specialty training
Connecting entrepreneurs with critical resources to create, launch, and grow a business
Providing multilingual workshops and training for entrepreneurs and business owners.
Offers financial assistance with fewer restrictions than those that existed before and during the pandemic
All services are free and available in both English and Spanish.
Location and Hours
Address
Monday:
Old Town Library
201 Peterson St, Fort Collins
Second Floor, Meeting Room B
Tuesday:
Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce
225 S Meldrum St, Fort Collins
Back Conference Room
Wednesday:
Front Range Community College
4616 S Shields St, Fort Collins
Blanca Peak (Larimer Small Business Development Center Office)
Hours
Every Monday through Wednesday
9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
2 p.m – 5 p.m.
More days and times coming soon
What to Expect When You Visit the MBEC
Three Business Connectors staff the MBEC and work closely with our friends at the Poudre River Library District, Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce, Larimer Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and other partner organizations.
The Connectors are the team with the knowledge to assist an entrepreneur or small business owner who is looking for information, suppliers and anything they might be missing in the process of building a business.
Your first appointment at the MBEC is an opportunity for our Business Connectors to learn about you, your business, goals, and your needs. They’ll ask you questions to identify resources or processes that you need for your business type and help determine your next steps. After you schedule an appointment, you may hear from a Businsess Connector before your meeting to ask any clarifying questions to do any research before you meet.
The first appointment is around 60-90 minutes.
The Business Connector will be taking notes and will recap the discussion along with next steps before the appointment ends. All MBEC customers will receive follow-up communication one to two weeks after the appointment, along with a survey at six months and 12 months after your initial appointment.
All MBEC customers are asked to complete a satisfaction survey before leaving. The data captured in the surveys helps us better support the program, the needs of our customers, and your progress and accomplishments. As a program funded by federal recovery dollars, our goal is to share the success of the program with our community so we can continue to support our entrepreneur community.
Customers can return as often as needed for follow-up questions or as their needs change.
The MBEC is open for all and was created to provide support for Spanish-speaking business owners and entrepreneurs, women business owners and entrepreneurs, veterans business owners and entrepreneurs, as well as immigrant business owners to help prepare and produce healthier businesses in our communities.
Reach Out to a Business Connector at the MBEC
Looking for help with your business? The Multicultural Business and Entrepreneur Center (MBEC) can assist you. Contact us today to see how we can help you grow your business.
If you would like to reach out to a Business Connector directly, email business@fcgov.com.
Who We Are
Edgar Ramos, Spanish Bilingual
eramos@fcgov.com
Local to Fort Collins, Edgar specializes in helping businesses navigate government processes and find resources for entrepreneurs to overcome barriers. As business owner himself, Edgar understands the struggle that is entrepreneurship. Through the MBEC, Edgar connects small businesses and entrepreneurs to critical resources as they create, launch, and grow their businesses, all while building trust across all businesses.
Tomas Meritt, Spanish Bilingual
tmeritt@fcgov.com
Born and raised in Buenos Aires Argentina, Tommy’s international background has provided him the ability to become highly adaptive in new environments and become more open-minded, hence, understanding other cultures and backgrounds. Through his experience in sales and digital marketing, he discovered a passion for helping brands grow through content creation on social media. Tommy enjoys working at the MBEC as a Business Connector helping entrepreneurs establish, grow, and launch their business. The people in this community are what makes Fort Collins an amazing place.
Our Partners
