According to Integron’s President and CEO, Steven J. Negrón, “Small businesses have and always will be the heart and soul of this nation’s Industrial Base. Small businesses create two out of every three new jobs and account for nearly half of America's overall employment. They create new opportunities, especially for women and minorities. Women own more than a quarter of all businesses, and the number of women-owned businesses is growing. Hispanic Americans are opening their own businesses at a rate three times the national average.”