News / Press Releases

Media Contact: Jaime Segui-Asad, Communications and Marketing Lead | OPRIMA AQUI PARA LEER EL ANUNCIO EN ESPAÑOL

BALTIMORE, MD — The Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC) is proud to announce the launch of the Childcare Entrepreneurs Collective, a new initiative designed to expand access to quality childcare while creating pathways to entrepreneurship, business ownership, and economic mobility in Baltimore City. The Collective will launch with a bilingual incubator designed for aspiring childcare entrepreneurs, offering coaching, licensing support, and business planning as participants navigate the path to launching their businesses.

LEDC will open applications by early September and will hold two in-person informational sessions on September 2nd (12pm and 6:00pm, respectively). The first Childcare Entrepreneurs Collective cohort will focus its outreach on Highlandtown and Southeast Baltimore, though the program is open to aspiring childcare entrepreneurs citywide.

"Childcare isn't just a family issue, it's an economic one," said Emi Reyes, Chief Executive Officer of LEDC. "When parents can't find care they trust and afford, they're pushed out of the workforce, and the local economy loses that talent. When we invest in the entrepreneurs building quality childcare businesses, we create jobs and open up access to trusted childcare that families in this city desperately need.”

The need is significant. Childcare and education opportunities are currently available for only about half of Baltimore City’s children under age five, with particularly acute shortages for infants and toddlers. Access is even more limited in neighborhoods with growing Hispanic populations — including Highlandtown and Southeast Baltimore, though need extends well beyond these communities — where families have few licensed, culturally responsive childcare options.

The Childcare Entrepreneurs Collective brings LEDC’s more than three decades of experience supporting small-business owners and entrepreneurs to one of Baltimore’s most pressing economic and community needs. By helping aspiring providers navigate the path from idea to licensed childcare business, the initiative seeks to strengthen both the city's small-business ecosystem and its childcare infrastructure, with culturally and linguistically responsive support at its core.

The launch of the Childcare Entrepreneurs Collective is made possible through the generous support of The Sherman Foundation, The Straus Foundation, Cindy Paradies and Larry Moscow Fund, The Richman Foundation, Fund for Educational Excellence, The Hackerman Foundation, The Thalheimer-Eurich Foundation, and the Mayor’s Office who committed to strengthening Baltimore’s childcare and small-business ecosystem. As the initiative grows and additional funding is secured, LEDC plans to add an accelerator for existing childcare providers seeking to strengthen and expand their operations.

Aspiring childcare entrepreneurs interested in participating can learn more at ledcmetro.org/childcare.

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