Eva Longoria UCLA investment aims to close the Latina wealth gap by funding research that connects entrepreneurship growth to real policy change and capital access.
Eva Longoria Foundation is putting new weight behind one of the most underexamined forces in the U.S. economy: Latina entrepreneurs. This week, the foundation announced a $1 million, three-year investment in the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute to fund research focused on economic mobility, wealth building, and policy solutions.
The initiative, led by LPPI director Amada Armenta and deputy director Lila Burgos, is designed to do something policymakers and investors have long struggled with: quantify the real economic impact of Latinas and translate it into actionable policy.
“This is about data that drives decisions,” said Eva Longoria in announcing the investment. “We know Latinas are building businesses at an extraordinary rate. Now we need the evidence to match that reality and shape policy.”
The timing matters. According to data cited by UnidosUS, Latinas contribute an estimated $1.3 trillion to the U.S. economy. That output alone would rank among the largest state economies in the country. At the same time, Latina-owned businesses remain the fastest-growing segment in the small business landscape.
Yet growth has not translated into equal access or wealth. Research from the Latino Business Action Network shows Latino-owned firms receive less than 2 percent of venture capital funding and face significantly lower approval rates from traditional lenders. Pay equity remains another barrier, with Latinas earning roughly 57 cents for every dollar earned by non-Hispanic white men, according to federal labor data.
That disconnect is at the center of the UCLA effort.
“This is not just about counting businesses,” Armenta said. “It is about understanding why strong entrepreneurial activity is not leading to long-term wealth and how policy can close that gap.”
The funding will support a series of targeted initiatives, including a Latina Entrepreneurship Advisory Group to ground research in lived experience, new studies on wealth-building barriers, and “Policy Pláticas” that connect researchers with lawmakers and community leaders. The program will also expand fellowships and mentorship pipelines for emerging Latino policy experts.
The strategy reflects a broader shift in how economic influence is built. Rather than relying on narrative alone, institutions are investing in data infrastructure that can shape legislation, capital flows, and public perception.
For Latino communities, the stakes are immediate. Small business formation has been one of the most reliable paths to upward mobility, particularly in regions like California and Texas where Latino-owned firms are expanding faster than the national average. But without access to capital, networks, and scalable policy support, that growth risks stalling.
Longoria’s investment signals an attempt to close that gap from both sides, combining storytelling power with institutional research.
The foundation’s track record suggests a sustained focus. It has distributed more than $1.5 million in microloans to Latina entrepreneurs through partners like Accessity and Accion Opportunity Fund, while also funding workforce and STEM programs that have trained more than 1,000 young Latinas.
At UCLA, the goal is to turn those individual success stories into scalable economic policy.
If successful, the research could reshape how governments, banks, and investors evaluate one of the country’s fastest-growing economic forces, moving Latinas from overlooked to central in the next phase of U.S. growth.
Eva Longoria on Latina Entrepreneurship: Why Mentorship and Capital Still Decide Who Wins
