North Central Massachusetts has seen a lot of change over the past decade; from the revitalization of downtown Fitchburg and Leominster to the redevelopment of Devens, to increased industrial investment across the region. Helping to tie together the business community from farmers to factory owners to the local hair salon is Nascimento and the North Central chamber.
In addition to the networking and advocacy roles standard for chambers of commerce, the North Central chamber delivered more than 1,100 hours of direct technical assistance to businesses. The chamber’s lending arm, the North Central Massachusetts Development Corp., made $1.6 million in total microloans to developing businesses over the past 12 months and granted more than $44,000 to small businesses. In 2022, it ranked third among all U.S. Small Business Administration microlenders in Massachusetts. Of those loans and grants, 74% were provided to historically underserved communities of minority-, woman-, or low-income-owned businesses.
As an extension of his role at the chamber, Nascimento is the head of the tourism marketing agency Visit North Central Massachusetts, which promotes the 27 communities in the region. In April, the agency split $1 million with two other Central Mass. tourism organizations to entice visitors from November to April, the season between peak season and the off-season.
How should professionals best use the power they wield? “Obviously, I’m a little biased, but I believe they should join their local chamber of commerce! Many people look at chambers and think it’s only networking and events, but chambers are a great way for business professionals to provide leadership in the community and collaborate to move the needle on big projects resulting in a positive impact in the community.”
Small business in his blood: Nascimento came from a family of small business owners and learned at a young age the value of hard work and the impact small businesses can have on the success of the local economy and community.
