Recognizing the potential of Black-owned businesses in boosting local economies, the nonprofit organization The Brookings Institution’s Metro Center for Community Uplift has launched the Black Business Parity Dashboard.
The dashboard, according to a release, provides local leaders, residents, and advocates with a roadmap to measure progress and design programs that support Black entrepreneurs.
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It aims to help communities, policymakers, and grassroots organizers understand the crucial role of Black entrepreneurship.
The platform, per the company’s report, shows the number of businesses and jobs, as well as the potential revenue “and payroll generated if Black business ownership were to match the Black population in metro areas.”
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According to the organization’s research, Black Americans “outperform the national average in entrepreneurial traits tied to business success.”
That notwithstanding, it said “systemic financial barriers,” such as limited access to credit and “the long-standing denial of wealth-building opportunities,” have hindered growth.
“Centuries of denying Black Americans the right to ownership have exacerbated the racial wealth gap. As of 2022, the wealth gap between Black and white Americans stood at $240,120 per household,” the institution noted.
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It added that while the number of Black-owned businesses has increased, there was still much room for improvement, and that businesses with at least one employee have a proven path to closing that gap.
Other reports indicate that the number of Black-owned businesses increased by 22.2 percent, and as of 2024, Black Americans made up 13.7 percent of the U.S. population, but they only own 3.3 percent of businesses.
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Brookings officials say if Black business ownership reaches parity with population share, the U.S. could gain 757,000 new businesses, 6.3 million jobs, and $824 billion in additional revenue.
The Brookings Institution is a non-profit organization based in Washington that conducts “in-depth, nonpartisan research to improve policy and governance at local, national, and global levels.”
