National Black Business Month is both a celebration and a call to action. Every August the U.S. honors the rich heritage of Black entrepreneurship, and helps focus our attention on the Black-owned businesses that serve our communities. Black business owners account for about 10 percent of U.S. businesses and about 30 percent of all minority-owned businesses. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, that amounts to approximately 2 million companies owned by African Americans. This month reminds us also of the systemic inequities that Black business owners have faced throughout history, and which many still face to this day:

• Research at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a report by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that 41 percent of Black-owned businesses—some 440,000 enterprises—have been shuttered by COVID-19, compared to just 17 percent of white-owned businesses.*
• Blacks receive business loans at about half the rate of their white counterparts, and when they do receive loans, it’s at higher interest rates.*
• 95 percent of Black-owned businesses and 91 percent of Latino-owned businesses did not receive funding from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP),* designed to help small businesses cover payroll and benefits for their employees as well as pay rent or interest on mortgages.
• According to Robert W. Fairlie, an economist at UC Santa Cruz, half of all Black families have less than $9,000 in total wealth, while the median wealth for white families is $130,000.*

How to Support Black-Owned Businesses Right Now

The above obstacles make it more difficult for Black business owners to thrive in America. Considering this, Groupon identified—and is continuing to seek out—Black-owned businesses in cities across the country. The easiest way for each of us to help out is to answer the call to action: Celebrate National Black Business Month by seeking out, supporting, and championing Black-owned businesses in your neighborhood and community.

Groupon’s Commitment to Black-Owned Businesses

Groupon is dedicated to supporting our Black business partners not only during National Black Business Month but also beyond.

Listening & Learning

We’re continuing our outreach to Black-owned business partners nationwide to learn more about the services and support needed that Groupon may provide through connections to our partners.

Supporting Our Merchants

We’re partnering with Black business organizations and governmental agencies at the federal and state levels to gather a list of available resources and co-sponsor virtual panel discussions for merchants. 

We've also partnered with Kiva.org, a renowned crowdfunding platform, to raise funds in support of a Black-owned business fund that will help create opportunity and unlock investment capital for Black merchants across the country.

See how our Coupons team is supporting Black-owned and Black-led brands.

Amplifying Black Stories

We’re making an ongoing effort to seek out and highlight Black-owned businesses through our social media and other initiatives.

To learn more about the actions Groupon is taking to bring about positive change, click here.

*Cited from Rodney A. Brooks, More than half of Black-owned businesses may not survive COVID-19, National Geographic. Published July 17, 2020.

Illustrations by Emily Mungovan