Achieving the full potential of the U.S. economy requires that every American entrepreneur can start and grow their business regardless of background. Yet some communities face disproportionate barriers to the resources needed to turn their entrepreneurial dreams into reality. For example, the U.S. Federal Reserve found that more than half of Black-owned businesses were turned down for bank loans, a rate twice as high as white business owners. Black-owned businesses received less than 1 percent of venture dollars and Latino/a-owned businesses received less than 2 percent in 2022, according to CrunchBase.

The Department of Commerce is supporting and investing in minority business enterprises (MBEs) to ensure that every entrepreneur can contribute to U.S. economic competitiveness. The Department of Commerce provides technical assistance to socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs.

The Department of Commerce directly invests in MBEs and underserved communities including:

President Biden directed agencies to make Federal contracting and procurement opportunities more available, to remove barriers faced by underserved individuals and communities, and to increase the share of contracts awarded to Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDBs), which includes MBEs, to 15% by Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. Commerce has historically done very well in awarding contracts to SDBs, averaging approximately 21% (FY 2019 – FY 2023) of contract dollars obligated to SDBs. Doubling down on engagement and recruitment, Commerce is on track to exceed that average.