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Congressional Daily Record
This section is a tribute, commemoration, or district-facing statement. It mentions members such as Pablo José Hernández. Extensions of Remarks are statements submitted for the official record, even if they were not spoken live on the floor.
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September 28, 2026
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Extensions of Remarks
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Download official Extensions PDFReturn to issue contextHON. PABLO JOSE HERNANDEZ
of puerto rico
in the house of representatives
Mr. HERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Grupo Guayacan, Inc. on the occasion of its 30th anniversary. The organization's roots trace back to a 1994 study commissioned by founder Enrique “Ricky” Adsuar Gonzalez, which proved that Puerto Rico lacked a local private capital market to drive economic development. Founded in June 1996 as a private-sector-driven nonprofit, Grupo Guayacan officially marked this milestone on June 13, 2026, and will honor it with a public celebration on October 3, 2026—the event that occasions this submission into the Record. Adsuar Gonzalez established the organization under three guiding principles: it must be a non-governmental effort, have a governance structure led by the private sector, and be structured as a non-profit entity. For three decades, Grupo Guayacan has been a cornerstone of Puerto Rico's economic development, spurring the local private equity market by providing local institutional investors with access to top tier private equity investing through a partnership with Abbott Capital, leading the creation of the entrepreneurial ecosystem by offering world class education and tools to entrepreneurs at different stages of growth and facilitating access to capital to early- stage entrepreneurs in order to achieve lasting prosperity for the Island. This partnership with Abbott Capital was strategically designed to give Puerto Rican investors access to private equity investments and protect public funds, often referred to by Adsuar Gonzalez as “the people's savings.”
or public spending. It must be built on new businesses, sustained growth of both SME's and innovation-based companies, the successful transition of legacy family businesses, retained talent, and well- paying jobs that keep Puerto Ricans at home. Grupo Guayacan has understood this from the beginning. Its founding premise—that a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem equals a strong economy, and that a strong ecosystem needs risk capital to grow—has been validated over three decades by over 3,500 entrepreneurs who have built extraordinary companies across the Island, hundreds of instructors and mentors, and dozens of investors who have seen their capital grow and remain in Puerto Rico with Guayacan's support.
at every stage of a venture's growth. I-Corps Puerto Rico, aligned with the National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps initiative and delivered in partnership with the Georgia Institute of Technology, converts research and innovation into viable businesses—a direct investment in Puerto Rico's knowledge economy, now in its 22nd cohort. The EnterPRize Competition, which has been running uninterruptedly since 2005, was the first program in Puerto Rico to provide equity-free seed capital to early stage entrepreneurs. This year, it welcomed 30 startups from nearly 150 applicants across sectors central to Puerto Rico's economic diversification: health, technology, education,
agriculture, and retail. The Scale Up Bootcamp program designed in collaboration with Banco Popular, the Island's principal financial institution, just awarded a $50,000 seed capital prize and a $20,000 special prize to two SME's—a direct private-sector investment in the Island's high-growth companies. The Guayacan Venture Accelerator program, now in its 16th year, has served 202 growth companies, each with well over a million dollars in revenue, and 675 participants. Notably, the participating companies in this program only represent 13,000 jobs in Puerto Rico's economy.
celebration at Liberty Square in San Patricio Plaza, showcasing over 50 alumni entrepreneurs and a full day of performances by program alumni. It will notably launch its first children's book, Enrique y el guayacan, to instill the possibility of becoming an entrepreneur in the next generation and illustrate the lasting impact of three decades of investment in Puerto Rican talent.
Mr. Speaker, expanding economic opportunity in Puerto Rico is among my highest priorities in Congress. Grupo Guayacan is one of the most important private-sector partners in this work. I commend Executive Director Laura Cantero and the entire Guayacan team for their extraordinary service to Puerto Rico's economic future, and I congratulate this institution on 30 years of building the entrepreneurial foundation from which our Island's talent can build upon and thrive.