Latinx-Owned Businesses Can Now Mark Themselves as Such on Yelp

Yelp introduced the ability for Black-owned businesses to identify themselves as such on its platform in June, and Tuesday, the business directory and crowdsourced review forum unveiled a similar initiative for Latinx-owned businesses. Yelp teamed up with Momento Latino, an organization that addresses the needs and concerns of the Latinx community, to roll out its new, free Latinx-owned business attribute. Latinx business owners can log into their dashboard on Yelp for Business and mark themselves as Latinx-owned. The feature is opt-in only. They can also fill out this form to receive a window decal for their storefront. Yelp and Momento Latino are teaming up to tell the stories of Latinx small business owners via social platforms, as well. A recent study by Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business found that the Latinx community has opened more small businesses than any other demographic in the U.S., and another study by CNBC found that 86% of Latinx business owners reported a significant negative impact on their businesses due to Covid-19 and nearly two-thirds did not expect to be able to continue operating if the pandemic lasted beyond six months. Momento Latino founder Henry R. Muñoz III said in a statement, "We are thrilled to be partnering with Yelp to support Latino-owned businesses. Latinos are entrepreneurs and the fastest growing segment of small business in every state and every market sector in America, contributing over $2 trillion annually to our nation’s economy. During Covid 19, Latino business owners were disproportionately left out of the economic stimulus effort, and they have been struggling to keep their heads above water despite the critical role their businesses play in communities across our country. There has never been a more important time to recognize their contributions, and with Yelp's partnership, we're excited to lift up their work and support their success as part of Latinx Heritage Month." Momento Latino cofounder, activist and actress Eva Longoria Bastón added, “U.S. Latinos are the world’s seventh-largest economy. We’ve started 86% of new U.S. businesses during the past decade and created nearly 3 million American jobs. This partnership with Yelp will educate communities about the vital role that Latinx-owned businesses play in every American city. And, we’ll generate revenue for Latinx-owned businesses and support local economies during and beyond Latinx Heritage Month. We’re grateful to our Momento Latino coalition partners—like Support Latino Business, Just, Latinx Startups and many more—who make programs like this possible by supporting Latinx entrepreneurs year-round.”