By Francine Knowles
The number of active Black-owned businesses in the U.S. plummeted 41 percent during the early months of the pandemic from February to April, more than twice the 17 percent level of white owned businesses. That is according to research by Robert Fairlie from the University of California Santa Cruz that is based on government data.
There are multiple reasons for the disproportionate impact on Black-owned businesses. “A lot of them are concentrated in industries that were most immediately impacted by the pandemic,” said Lotika Pai. She is managing director of Access to Capital at the Chicago-based Women’s Business Development Center, which provides technical assistance and loans to small businesses, the majority of which are minority-owned. Among industries most affected by the pandemic have been service and retail businesses. Read more>>
