Black Women-Owned Businesses Champion Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

By Jada Ingleton | The Washington Informer | Word In BlackThis post&was originally published on The Washington Informer (WIB) – August marks National Black Business Month and Black women-owned businesses have been celebrating with a rise in presence, revenue, and development opportunities amidst ongoing infrastructure challenges, research shows. Black female entrepreneurs have dominated the business climate, representing roughly 2.1 million businesses and 52.1% of all Black-owned enterprises, according to a 2024 Wells Fargo Study. As the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs, Black women have worked to shape culture and create spaces for diversity to prosper, with business methods rooted in increasing representation, access to capital, education and reducing the racial wealth gap.“When I think about the inherent qualities women carry – to be nurturers, to be community developers, to be community builders … I think it’s a natural need that exists in every community. When you think about small businesses and Black women, Black women represent the fastest-growing new business opportunities in the country. Small business in general generates all of our local jobs,” says Monica Ray, president of The Congress Heights Community Training and Development Corporation (CHCTDC). “When you think about how to bridge the gap between how we build...