Driving prosperity: How supporting Black entrepreneurship has fueled significant growth and can sustain future momentum

From 2017 to 2022, Black-owned employer businesses were drivers of economic growth, boosting economies in both red and blue states while providing spillover effects that helped residents of rural and urban areas. Black-owned businesses saw tremendous growth over the period, adding roughly 70,500 new employer firms to the national economy—equivalent to about half of the overall increase.

On February 20, Brookings Metro—in collaboration with the Path to 15|55 initiative, which endeavors to grow the percentage of Black-owned employer firms—reflected on this tremendous period of inclusive growth. Senior Fellow Andre Perry presented new data demonstrating that investing in Black-owned businesses is not a zero-sum game, and that the substantial public and private efforts to invest in diverse owners during the Biden-Harris administration seems to be paying off. Then, CapEQ President and CEO Tynesia Boyea-Robinson moderated a panel discussing what this growth means in a new era of federal regulation that is reversing many of the programs and policies that have supported this growth. Panelists delved deeper into the data to discuss the potential implications of federal rollbacks on racial equity and DEI programs in entrepreneurship, regional competitiveness, and economic growth.

This event featured business leaders and scholars discussing the factors that led to the rise in Black employers and sharing insights on maintaining this progress.