AHANA was formed in 1998 as a trusted organization to support and engage multi-ethnic and multi-cultural business owners and working professionals. The organization addressed business needs and provided solutions for those businesses to become successful in the Inland Northwest.
AHANA went dormant in 2009 when AHANA’s executive director when Ben Cabildo was hired by Community Minded Enterprises (CME) — AHANA became a CME program with the hire but it was never funded. In 2018, a small group of original AHANA members began meeting to reboot the organization under the guidance and leadership of Ben Cabildo and Marvo Reguindin who had been the General Manager for Inland Northwest Business Alliance. The new AHANA board re-established its state non-profit status under the name Multi-Ethnic Business Association (MEBA) and is doing business as AHANA because of the strong name awareness it has in Spokane.
The needs faced by multi-ethnic and multi-cultural (MEMC) businesses have not changed since 1995. Today, AHANA continues to work on the following issues MEMC businesses face:
- Lack of information and resources and mentors for MEMC businesses
- Lack of capital
- Lack of business management experience and knowledge
- Lack of business marketing, financial experience and knowledge
- Lack of connection and access to business and contracting opportunities
These issues are addressed through a 5-point program that:
- Provides assistance in accessing working capital for start-ups, business retention and expansion.
- Assists in business counseling, training, educating and accessing information and resources.
- Assists by creating awareness of AHANA’s business presence in the Inland Northwest.
- Assists with networking opportunities and by developing partnerships with government, organizations and the business community through supplier diversity programs.
- Promotes workforce diversity to expand employment opportunities for AHANA professionals
