Main Street Monday – SBA and MBDA Celebrate Black History Month

February 24, 2020

By Mary Miller
Contributing Editor, Main Street Monday

Main Street Monday – SBA and MBDA Celebrate Black History Month

Since February is Black History Month, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) have taken the opportunity to celebrate and recognize the contributions of African American small business owners and entrepreneurs across the United States.

According to the Guidant Financial report, 2019 Trends – African Americans in Busines, which was released in November last year:

  • By the beginning of 2019 African American businesses had grown by more than 400% when compared to the previous year.
  • 38% of African American businesses are female-owned which is significantly higher than the 23% average among all other business owners.
  • 69% of the 2,700 African American business owners surveyed by Guidant Financial and LendingClub said that their business was currently profitable.

Despite the growing success of minority-owned small businesses, African American small business owners continue to struggle with capital and cash flow. Due to these financing challenges, more African American (41%) small business owners use cash to fund their businesses than the average small business owner (32%) and only 4% of African American small businesses rely on SBA loans.

The SBA and MBDA have been working relentlessly to aid all minority-owned small businesses. During the last two fiscal years, MBDA successfully facilitated nearly $12 billion in contracts and financing to minority business ventures, which helped retain or create 35,000+ jobs. In FY 2019, the SBA provided minority business owners with $8.8 billion in combined 7(a) and 504 funding (31% of the SBA’s loan portfolio) and SBA Administrator, Jovita Carranza, has made it her goal to focus on helping more minority-owned small businesses.

Additionally, the SBA, SBA-affiliated agencies and the MBDA are offering free, special training events throughout the month to support African American entrepreneurs.

Sources:
Guidant Financial
SBA