Unleashing the Potential of Entrepreneurs of Color in Massachusetts lays out a plan to position inclusive entrepreneurship as a central strategy to achieve a stronger and more equitable economy post-COVID. Produced by MassINC in partnership with the newly-formed Coalition for an Equitable Economy, the research highlights both the need and the opportunity to put inclusive entrepreneurship at the core of the state’s economic development strategy in 2021 and beyond.
Entrepreneurs play a critical role driving innovation and creating jobs. Our analysis uncovers troubling signs that this dynamism is on the decline. Over the past two decades, the number of new business starts in Massachusetts has dropped sharply. A growing number of Black and Latino residents are self-employed, but residents of color are still dramatically less likely than white residents to own a business. As the state’s population becomes more diverse, this disparity fuels the decline in small business formation.
This report presents a set of strategies that can provide a strong foundation for an ambitious campaign to close racial and ethnic gaps in small business ownership by the end of the decade.