30APR25 "Remittances sent from the United States to Ecuador are not just monetary transfers; they are everyday expressions of affection translated into dollars. In 2024, Ecuador received $6.54 billion in remittances, equivalent to approximately 5.3% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to figures from the Central Bank of Ecuador.

Nearly two-thirds came from the United States, consolidating its position as the largest issuer. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, remittances totaled $1.174 billion, marking a growing trend, especially from cities like New York and the states of New Jersey and Florida, where the majority of the Ecuadorian community is concentrated. But the impact doesn't stop there.

According to a recent study by the Migration Policy Institute, 88% of households that receive remittances spend them on basic needs: food, healthcare, and education. Migrant money supports not only families but also entire local economies.

Armando Zumba, originally from Cañar, arrived in the United States in 2001 after a nine-month journey and pockets full of dreams. He started cleaning windows and offices, facing language and adaptation barriers, until construction opened its doors to him.

With tireless effort, spending days gardening and painting, and then starting out on his own, Armando transformed uncertainty into opportunity, founding his own company: AAZQ Construction LLC . “Hard work never scared me; I always knew that every day spent sweating here was a seed planted in my land,” he says.

Today, Armando not only sustains his life in Groton, Connecticut, but also extends his success to Ecuador, where he has built a home and started a small business. His story is that of thousands of Ecuadorians who are redefining migration as an economic and emotional bridge between two homelands that beat to the same rhythm of their efforts.

While remittances represent the most visible face of economic contribution, there is another equally transformative phenomenon: Ecuadorian entrepreneurship on U.S. soil. Muuca is a clear example of the economic impact Ecuadorians generate from abroad.

The company was born from the efforts of Daniel Tenorio, an Ecuadorian migrant born in Salcedo, Cotopaxi, who, after years of working in the food sector in Ecuador, decided to pursue a dream in the United States. Between 2012 and 2014, his experience at "El Ranchito" and an industrial association were key in acquiring knowledge that he would later apply to his venture. In 2019, he formalized the creation of a company specializing in the import of Ecuadorian dairy products that now operates out of New Jersey.

Since then, Muuca has not only established a presence within the Latino community but has also established a commercial bridge between Ecuador and the United States. The company handles the entire import and distribution process, and its products —such as fresh cheese and dulce de leche—reach migrant families eager to reconnect with their hometown flavors.

This company symbolizes how migration is not only a human phenomenon but also an economic one : it creates jobs, activates binational supply chains, and preserves cultural identity through consumption.

Like Muuca, hundreds of Ecuadorian-owned businesses are flourishing in the United States. Although there are no official figures broken down by nationality, the US Census Bureau confirms that Latino-owned businesses have grown steadily over the last decade.

Within this wave of entrepreneurship, Ecuadorians have made their mark in sectors such as food, construction, and services, forging new forms of belonging thousands of miles from home. "It's the consolidation of a migration that no longer just sends money, but also creates jobs and leaves a cultural imprint on neighborhoods," says Andrea Ocana, a specialist in Human Rights, Human Mobility, and Gender Equality.

In New York, local reports from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection acknowledge that Latin American migrants—including Ecuadorians—support a large part of the home delivery service. In the agricultural fields of California and Florida, their contribution is also palpable: according to the United States Department of Labor, approximately 6% of migrant farmworkers come from South America, the region from which a significant portion of Ecuadorian migrants originate. “Ecuadorians are everywhere: in hospitals, leading a business, arriving at their offices punctually at 9:00 a.m., in construction, in cleaning, on rooftops in the sun, and on New York subways,” Andrea says.

According to data from the Central Bank of Ecuador, in 2024, Ecuadorian workers sent more than $2.7 billion from the United States through formal means such as banks, remittance services, or mobile applications. The contribution of the Ecuadorian community in the United States is not limited to money. It's a back-and-forth phenomenon that redefines notions of citizenship and belonging. Many of these migrants— more than 700,000, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security—build families, communities, and businesses without cutting ties with their country of origin.

Today, in the digital age, an Ecuadorian can start a business in New York, register their trademark in Quito, and sell products through TikTok to a clientele in Guayaquil. Migration is no longer a starting point; it has become a transnational strategy for survival and success. As Daniel, the owner of the Muuca brand, says: “Here I learned that I didn't come here to start from scratch; I came with a story, with tools, and with a cause. And that's worth more than any passport.”

https://www.primicias.ec/economia/ecuatorianos-migrantes-estados-unidos-negocios-emprendimientos-remesas-nueva-york-nueva-jersey-95019/?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=social