Across the United States and in the Philadelphia region, minority businesses — especially those that are owned by African Americans or Indigenous people — often lack the flexible capital that comes from generational and family wealth. The typical Black American household, for example, has one-tenth the wealth of the typical white family.
Consequently, for minority businesses in the startup or early stages of business growth, the lack of access to family and friends’ capital can permanently stunt an entrepreneur’s ability to succeed. Such barriers create ripple effects throughout our region: Philadelphia’s Black community is 43% of the city’s population yet owns just 2.5% of businesses with employees; local Black and brown businesses represent less than 12% of local institutional spending.
Through the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia’s work via the PAGE (Philadelphia Anchors for Growth & Equity) initiative — which connects local Black and Brown-owned businesses to opportunities in institutional supply chains — we’ve become acutely aware of the ways that capital access impedes businesses and broader regional equity. In listening to our community, we’ve become more intentional about connecting and creating solutions that can work toward bridging the capital and wealth gap.
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