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A new study found only 2 percent of all U S. businesses to be Black-owned, and disparities in entrepreneurship are hindering overall Black employment, The Hill reports.
According to the Alliance for Entrepreneurial Equity (AEE), Black people make up 13.4 percent of the general population, but are extremely underrepresented when it comes to business ownership.
Women and Hispanics also have disproportionately less stake in entrepreneurship across the nation. Only 6 percent of all businesses are Hispanic-owned, despite making up 18.5 percent of the general population.
The report notes that racial disparities in business begin from high school. 7.4 percent of Black and Brown students are required to take financial literacy class compared to 12 percent of all students.
These students also receive less mentorship from their communities of color — Black people and Hispanics only make up 6.7 percent of all business program faculty.
Black entrepreneurs start with an average of $35k in capital, while their white counterparts begin with around $107k.
According to the report, entrepreneurship serves as a major source of job growth within communities, so more people of color would have access to employment opportunities if Black- and Hispanic-owned businesses were proportionate to the population.
If the number of Black-owned businesses matched the community's general population, the 738,000 more businesses would create 7 million more jobs and $733 billion more in revenue, the report found.
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