The pandemic has taken its toll on most industries and businesses.
However, few have suffered as much as Black-owned businesses, which plummeted by over 40% after the pandemic started in April 2020.
And even though the government promised aid to small businesses in the country, only 29% of Black-owned businesses received relief, compared to 60% of White-owned businesses.
However, Black women are stepping up to form new Black-owned businesses.
According to Business Insider, Black-owned businesses are currently thriving because of the initiative Black women are showing in launching new businesses.
In fact, statistics show that Black-owned businesses are currently standing at 30% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Black women, in particular, are among the biggest groups launching new businesses during the pandemic.
This didn’t just start recently, though. In 2019, before Covid-19, Black women were already making money moves.
At the time, they owned 35% of Black-owned businesses, which is 10% more than other female-owned businesses in the country.
Part of the reason for this entrepreneurial spirit is that Black women earn less than every other demographic group in the U.S.
They are also overrepresented when it comes to low-paying jobs, they lack childcare in many cases, and a lot of them don’t have remote working options.
In fact, the pandemic is what brought to light how much Black-owned businesses rely on in-person interactions; these are the businesses that suffered the most.
Black people are also less wealthy in general than whites.
This means that if there is a financial emergency, less collateral is available. This has been glaringly visible during the pandemic.
Just one year into it, 77% of Black-owned businesses and 80% of Asian-owned ones claimed that they are either in a fair or poor financial condition.
For Black women to improve their work lives, starting their own business ventures has basically become a necessity.
And they are absolutely thriving at it. Long may their entrepreneurial spirit continue!
