With the Biden administration in office, the million-dollar question has been how President Joe Biden plans to use his platform to level the playing field when it comes to Black-owned businesses.
The COVID-19 pandemic came in and shook up the world as we knew it, especially for Black entrepreneurs who, let’s just face it, already face obstacle after obstacle when it comes to scaling their businesses.
“Build Back Better is the president’s view that we needed to do something right away in order to address the pandemic and the public and economic aspects of it, but it isn’t good enough to just get back to how things were before the pandemic,” said Bharat Ramamurti, National Economic Council Deputy Director for the Biden administration on the latest episode of Black Tech Green Money.
Ramamurti says the Biden administration not only understands the need to reimagine the American economy but that it needs to get it right when it comes to Black entrepreneurs, Black techies, and Black creatives who don’t receive the same opportunities often offered to their white counterparts at birth.
“One area that is particularly problematic is the disparities between the opportunities available to white entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color,” continued Ramamurti. “If you just look at the data, a lot of small businesses start from family wealth.”
However, this wealth is not readily available to Black Americans.
“The president is trying to correct some of those disparities that exist to make sure that any small business person with a good idea actually has access to capital and the other resources that are needed to start a business,” said Ramamurti.
Not only does the new plan include more resources and opportunities for current Black business owners, but Ramamurti also stresses the importance of investing in aspiring entrepreneurs as well.
“This jobs plan also includes billions of dollars going to partnerships with HBCUs [Historically Black Colleges and Universities] so that Black students in STEM fields have access to more resources so that the great idea can turn into a great business upon graduation,” he said.
For more on how the new plan includes incubators to walk Black entrepreneurs through the process of starting their business, how Black techies can participate and win contracts, and more, listen to the full Black Tech Green Money episode below:
