Tim Chapman 
BROWNSVILLE – The UTRGV Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Center (ECC) has been helping local businesses by providing digital training to expand their online presence.
The digital movement series launched in 2020 after the ECC partnered with the City of Brownsville Chamber of Commerce and the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation to create a COVID response team geared towards entrepreneurs and local businesses.
Maria Villalon, program manager of the ECC, contacted businesses in the valley to offer a solution to businesses that were forced to shut down operations. She talks about the common concern most business owners shared which was the uncertainty of having online operations.
“Topics became common to a lot of the businesses that were familiar with the unknown, which was the online presence, moving their operations into digital platforms to remain open,” said Villalon.
One of the entrepreneurs that participated in the ECC technical training was Karina Saldivar, owner, and operator of Amor Y Pan, who talks about the struggles she faced with opening her new business at the height of the pandemic and then quickly having to close.
“I had a brand-new business on my hands, and I needed to figure it out because a lot of people didn’t know I was here,” said Saldivar. “Only a few here and there had heard about me, from my house, from my friends but that’s not enough to upkeep a business.”
UTRGV Director of Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Commercialization, Linda Ufland, talked about how optimistic she is about the future of the ECC.
“For us to have as much outreach as we can to assist and support our small business community in providing them with the tools and resources to better serve their needs,” said Ufland. “To utilize what we now see as these digital platforms that are becoming essential for the business planning process and for the success of the business.”
The ECC is in the planning stages of holding digital literacy sessions across the four RGV counties, which is expected to begin next month. For more information, you can contact the E-C-C at ECC@UTRGV.EDU or at 956-882-4119.
