WATCH: Unique Challenges Facing Black Entrepreneurs
In the 3rd episode of our series, host Alisa Gumbs leads a discussion on how Black entrepreneurs can sustain their businesses
From 2002 to 2017, the number of Black-owned businesses with employees increased 31.2 percent, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Despite encouraging growth, uncertainty brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has been unsettling for the broader small business community and it has had a disproportionate impact on Black-owned businesses. Only 8.8 percent of Black business owners reported profitability and growth in 2020.
However, according to a June Capital One Business Survey, the majority of Black business owners (83%) expect their business’s sales to increase within the next six months and 87 percent have plans to grow their business during that same time period.
On the third installment of On the Clock with Alisa Gumbs—a four-part virtual podcast series presented by Capital One in partnership with Black Enterprise—Zainep Mahmoud, Senior Director, Capital One Business and Marty McDonald, Founder of Boss Women Media, discuss the unique challenges facing Black business owners. This conversation highlights best practices and available resources to help Black entrepreneurs sustain their businesses for the long term.
“The forward momentum over the last 20 years has been remarkable and something to celebrate,” says Mahmoud. “However, Black business owners have long faced a number of challenges, namely a lack of access to capital, and those obstacles have only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Through Capital One’s Supplier Diversity Program, we award grants to Black and Latinx business partners and suppliers, and provide the tools, resources and counsel needed to help them succeed in today’s marketplace.
As part of Capital One’s Impact Initiative, a $200 million, five-year effort to support growth in underserved communities and advance socioeconomic mobility, the Supplier Diversity Program aims to accelerate the success of small business owners to create more jobs, strengthen the local economy and move our society toward a more equitable future.
Each episode in this podcast series will feature perspectives from experts, community partners and changemakers to discuss why creating equitable opportunities for all is imperative. Catch up on the series, and watch the latest episode, here: On The Clock With Alisa Gumbs: Sustaining Black-owned Businesses into the Future.
