Downtown Macon sees an increase of Black-owned businesses

According to the Knight Foundation, 28% of the businesses in downtown Macon are Black-owned. That’s up from 18% three years ago. MACON, Ga. — August is National Black Business Month. The number of Black businesses nationwide is rising and Macon is no different.  According to the Knight Foundation, 28% of the businesses in downtown Macon are Black-owned. That’s up from 18% three years ago. Being an entrepreneur is no easy task. “We were able to open this space from working through a vision, working out the kinks and then here we are,” Christele Parham said. She owns Crate X, a coworking space for people who can work from anywhere. She and her husband started it in February.  She said owning a business comes with anxiety but having support helps. “As we are building our platforms or businesses, you don’t always have the resources or the blueprint available to us,” Parham said. “So, it takes a lot of like R and D. Research and development costs money and time and a lot of us don’t have access to that.” Parham and some other business owners are getting support from Newtown Macon, a nonprofit that provides loans for entrepreneurs and trains them....