Supporting BIPOC-owned Businesses Creates Greater Opportunity for All

While ongoing effects from the pandemic have impacted countless businesses, a recent National Bureau of Economic Research study revealed Black, Indigenous and People of Color-owned (BIPOC) organizations have taken a bigger hit than most. Nationally, the number of Black business owners plummeted last year from 1.1 million in February 2020 to 640,000 in April — a 41% loss in just a couple of months. Meanwhile, the number of Latino business owners dropped from 2.1 million to 1.4 million (32%) from February to March 2020.

Of course, COVID-19 is not the only challenge facing small and BIPOC-owned businesses as they continue to contend with systemic social and economic injustices, civil and social unrest and more. However, these ongoing inequities have never been more apparent than during the pandemic, including here in the Kansas City area.

According to a July, 2020 study from the Institute for Data Education, Analytics and Science (IDEAS) at UMKC, approximately 4,700 businesses, churches and nonprofits across the Kansas City area received initial Paycheck Protection Program loans of at least $150,000 each. While some-3,000 loans went to LLCs or other corporate structures that did not report ethnicity of owners, only 341 of these PPP loans went to minority- or women-owned firms. Breaking down the data further:

• 24 loans went to African American/Black-owned firms;
• 34 loans went to Hispanic-owned firms;
• 33 loans went to Asian-owned firms;
• 250 loans went to women-owned firms.

For their small businesses to survive over the coming years, BIPOC business owners will need to continue to rely on their skills, creativity, resources and capacities to stay viable and thrive. But eventual survival should not be dependent on their abilities alone.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. When they fail, the entire country feels the effects: skyrocketing unemployment rates, reduced consumer spending, less optimistic long-term forecasts for all businesses and more. But, when they succeed, we all succeed.

That’s why companies with the available resources should play a role in supporting these small and minority-owned businesses — and why Comcast created a brand new program last October called Comcast RISE to help these businesses address a variety of challenges and find long-term success.

Comcast RISE — which stands for “Representation, Investment, Strength and Empowerment” — is offering the opportunity for a technology makeover to suburban Kansas City small businesses owned by underrepresented groups. More than 700 Black-owned small businesses across the country have received support to date, and I’m pleased to announce that eligible BIPOC-owned small businesses can now apply for the next wave of RISE through May 7.

Eligible businesses include those at least 51% BIPOC owned; premise-based independently owned and operated; registered as a business in the U.S.; in operation for more than a year; and, located within Comcast’s suburban Kansas City service area. Businesses can apply for a technical makeover directly online at www.comcastrise.com/apply.

The Comcast RISE technology makeover includes computer equipment and Comcast Business Internet, Voice and Cybersecurity services for 12 months. And, while the marketing and investment fund portions of the program are not yet available in the Kansas City area, we anticipate expanding Comcast RISE opportunities in the months ahead.

We encourage and invite all eligible BIPOC businesses to take advantage of this opportunity. We know the past year has been challenging, traumatic and tragic for so many in our community, and 2021 will no doubt bring its own set of issues. And, although we can’t directly address all the complex, systemic issues BIPOC-owned businesses are facing, we are fully committed to helping to drive change and support the long process of ensuring equity, diversity and inclusion.

Through Comcast RISE, we hope to create sustainable impact and meaningful support for the small businesses shaping our communities. After all, at the end of the day, it’s about doing the right thing.

For more information, or to apply for a Comcast RISE technology makeover, visit www.comcastrise.com/apply.