Business ownership: In an equitable region, race and gender would not be barriers to starting a successful business.

• Among firms with paid employees in the five-county Bay Area, the rate of business ownership is five times higher for white workers compared with Black workers and four times higher compared with Latinx workers.
• The rate of business ownership in the five-county Bay Area is more than two times higher for male workers compared with female workers.
• Between 2007 and 2017, among firms with paid employees in the five-county Bay Area, the rate of business ownership has increased for Black, Asian American, and white workers, and it declined slightly for Latinx workers.
• The number of Black-owned firms with paid employees per 100 workers was the highest in Marin County and the lowest in Solano County.

Entrepreneurs of color are less likely than white entrepreneurs to have access to capital and contracts to start and grow a business, due in part to historical policies such as redlining that denied home loans and wealth-building opportunities to people of color. Today, Black- and Latinx-owned firms are less than half as likely as white-owned firms to be fully approved for non-emergency financing. Business owners of color also pay higher interest rates and receive lower loan and equity investments. Although creditworthiness is a factor in loan denials, this metric does not reflect how reliably individuals pay their rent. Underrepresented groups also often face barriers accessing important networks and training programs.

• Increase access to resources to help underrepresented entrepreneurs build and repair credit and attract investment and loan capital to start and grow their businesses.
• Ensure access to affordable banking products, particularly those that can build credit history and scores – credit cards, credit lines, and bank-sponsored loans (not payday loans or other alternative financial products that don’t report to credit bureaus).
• Increase resources for businesses owned by people of color through Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Business Centers, which are charged with creating sustainable jobs within businesses owned and operated by entrepreneurs of color through services focused on access to capital, contracts, and markets.
• Connect aspiring entrepreneurs to business mentoring programs through government agencies and organizations such as the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship
• Create dedicated incubators for entrepreneurs of color and women looking to start a business.
• Assess and fill gaps in the entrepreneurial ecosystem to support underrepresented entrepreneurs.
• Expand business opportunities through equitable procurement and contracting strategies.
• Close the racial wealth gap by increasing access to capital and government contracts for people of color.
• Implement sector-focused workforce training and placement programs that connect workers to growing industries.

• Organizations: Kapor Center, ICA Fund Good Jobs, Pacific Community Ventures
• Reports: A Policy Agenda for Closing the Racial Wage Gap; Including People of Color in the Promise of Entrepreneurship; Key Strategies to Advance Equitable Growth in Regions; The Color of Entrepreneurship
• Data: Prosperity Now Scorecard; Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council