Just 2 percent of US businesses Black-owned: report

A report released Monday by the Alliance for Entrepreneurial Equity (AEE) found that just 2 percent of U.S. businesses with employees are Black-owned, while only 6 percent are Hispanic-owned.

Both demographics are underrepresented in entrepreneurship, according to the study, which was first reported by Axios.

Black people make up 13.4 percent of the general population, and Hispanics comprise 18.5 percent.

Women are also underrepresented, owning a third of the share of businesses with employees owned by men.

The report identified disparities beginning as early as high school, where only 7.4 percent of Black and brown students are required to take financial literacy class compared to 12 percent of all students, according to the survey.

Racial and ethnic minorities are also afforded less mentorship from their communities, as only 6.7 percent of business program faculty are Black or Hispanic.

On average, Black entrepreneurs begin with $35,000 in capital, while white entrepreneurs begin with $107,000.

There are additional disparities when it comes to federal contracts, 9.4 percent of which are given to racial and ethnic minorities and 5 percent of which are given to women.

Entrepreneurship is a massive source of job growth within communities, according to the report, and significantly more people in Black and Hispanic communities would have the opportunity for employment if Black- and Hispanic-owned businesses were proportionate to the population.

The AEE estimates that if Black-owned businesses were proportionate to the population, the 738,000 more businesses would create nearly 7 million more jobs in Black communities and $733 billion more in revenue.

If Hispanic-owned businesses were proportionate to population, the 884,500 more businesses would likely create about $7.5 million more jobs and $1.2 trillion more in revenue.