PROVIDENCE - The Rhode Island-Israel Collaborative (RIIC) and the Rhode Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce have partnered with tech company Wix (NASDAQ: WIX) to engage Rhode Island’s Hispanic-owned small businesses in developing their web presence through the Wix web-development platform. The program will provide local students with in-demand job skills, which will then be put to use in building those small businesses’ web presence. RIIC CEO Avi Nevel said, “We at the Rhode Island-Israel Collaborative consider it an honor to initiate collaboration between our partners in Israel and Rhode Island, particularly for the benefit of Rhode Island’s Hispanic community.
Oscar Mejias, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, explained, “In Rhode Island, COVID-19 has had a huge negative impact on the Latino community. New technologies have become so crucial to business success, and that is the importance of this project – it will allow 50 Hispanic businesses, and the people that own them, to thrive and continue contributing to Rhode Island’s economy.”
The Consulate General of Israel to New England has also agreed to contribute funds to assist in running the program and prize money for the students. Consul General Zeev Boker said, “We are proud to support and help fund this venture, which will bring Israeli digital innovation to empower local Hispanic small businesses and give Hispanic college students the opportunity to sharpen their entrepreneurship skills.”