Globally, the economy has shifted in unexpected ways.

And in the United States, job cuts in the federal government, loss of corporate DEI programs, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more have caused widespread job loss. 

The impacts of this shift have been felt across all communities and regions, and especially among marginalized communities. 

Among the worst affected are Black women in the United States.

Black women experienced the largest loss of employment in 2025, losing about 251,000 jobs. Black women with bachelor’s degrees are included in these figures.

In recognition of Black Business Month in August, Kiva is calling attention to the need for increased financial inclusion for Black communities, especially Black women entrepreneurs, and celebrating the achievements of Black entrepreneurs within the Kiva community.

Progress of Black entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship, driven by both necessity and passion, is not new to Black communities in the United States. 

Historically, being locked out of opportunity due to racial discrimination, many have had no choice but to turn to entrepreneurship as a means to survive.

Black entrepreneurs have navigated discriminatory lending, banking, and hiring practices. This means less access to traditional bank loans, lines of credit, and other financing options.

Plus, discriminatory practices like redlining, which is the denial of crucial services like insurance, mortgages, bank loans, and credit, and more, based on where someone lives instead of creditworthiness, further hurt Black business ambition. 

Despite these tremendous challenges, there has been incredible progress. 

In 1867, there were only about 4,000 Black-owned businesses in the country. And in 1930, about 70,000.

But as of 2024, there are over 3.5 million Black-owned businesses in the United States, according to recent data

And in 2023, the number of Black-owned businesses that employ at least one person other than the owner (employer businesses) surpassed 200,000 for the first time.

A focus on Black women entrepreneurship

Black women entrepreneurs have seen exceptional growth. In fact, they are the fastest-growing demographic of entrepreneurs in the United States. 

According to data from J.P. Morgan, between 2015 and 2019, the number of Black women-owned businesses grew by 50%, which represents the highest growth of any other demographic of women. 

And a Harvard Business Review study found that Black women start more businesses in the U.S. than white men do. 

Even still, Black women entrepreneurs face barriers in bringing their dreams to life. In fact, 61% of Black women entrepreneurs have to self-fund their own capital.

Challenges in the corporate world

The intersection of sexism and racism creates a unique set of challenges not only for Black women entrepreneurs but also for Black women in the corporate world. These dynamics intermix in unique ways.

A mix of cuts to the federal workforce, job loss due to shrinking or the outright elimination of corporate DEI programs, and overall macroeconomic troubles has an impact on Black women in the workforce disproportionately. Particularly, college-educated Black women experienced acute amounts of job loss.

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, between January and August of 2025, Black women lost a staggering 251,000 jobs. 

And some Black women have left their corporate jobs due to racial microaggressions and biases in the workplace. 

Many Black women who lost their jobs in the corporate world or have chosen to walk away have now turned to entrepreneurship.

Included in these ranks are two Kiva U.S. borrowers.

Meet Nichole, the founder of Keppel and Kismet

Nichole, who lives in Baltimore, Maryland, had a long corporate career as an IT Project Manager. But since she was a young girl, Nichole always loved crafting and developed a deep appreciation for the art of gathering, fostering community, and gift-giving. “Gifting is like an art for me,” she says. 

In 2017, she decided to leave her remote role after a callback to in-person work, which, had she stayed in her role, would have required her to move away from family or face an impossibly long commute. 

Nichole applied and even started interviewing for a new job that would have paid more than her previous role. But, she had a feeling that this was not the right next step. “ No, Nichole, this is not what you're supposed to do." 

She then decided to withdraw her candidacy and pursue her dream of creating her own gift shop and creative workshop, Keppel and Kismet. 

Nichole first heard about Kiva through a local organization called Made in Baltimore. 

She was already operating out of her garage, offering art workshops, such as woodworking. She soon realized that she needed to retrofit her garage to accommodate higher electrical needs and to better use her CO2 laser. 

Nichole applied for a Kiva loan to help her make these changes. Her business has now moved to its own brick-and-mortar location, offering both retail products and creative workshops.

Now, Nichole is preparing to apply for another Kiva loan to help her hire more staff and grow her business. “ I'm ready to scale. I'm ready to hire a production partner.”

Meet Danielle, the founder of Prepped Place

Danielle, who lives in Dallas, Texas, had always dreamed of having a business of her own. 

She grew up working at her family’s funeral home, which helped inspire her dream. 

“My grandmother had a women-owned business that was started in the '20s, and for an African American during that time it was rare,” says Danielle.

Later, Danielle finished school and began her corporate career. As she encountered racial and gender barriers that prevented her from advancing, she only worked harder to get to the level she knew she deserved.

After the company she worked for asked her once again to perform tasks below her pay grade, she decided enough was enough and turned in her resignation. 

This gave her the push she needed to start her own venture. 

Danielle started Prepped Place, a Dallas, Texas-based home services company.

As Prepped Place grew, it also faced numerous challenges, including a power grid failure in February 2021 that left 4.5 million Texans without power.

As her business recovered from the energy blackout and began to boom again, Danielle knew Prepped Place could service more clients if it had access to commercial-grade washers and dryers and industrial vacuum cleaners. 

She also envisioned crisp, branded uniforms that would signify the professionalism of her team. 

So in early 2022, she applied for a zero-interest U.S. Kiva loan. 

Powered by 159 lenders, her $8,000 Kiva loan allowed Danielle to meet her immediate goals for Prepped Place.

“The Kiva loan impacted my business financially, but it impacted me as a person as well. I had a lot of growth, which is priceless,” she says.

Meet Aundrea, the founder of Tre-Azure

While some Black women entrepreneurs in the Kiva U.S. network have begun their entrepreneurial journey after leaving the corporate world, others have taken a different path.

Aundrea, who lives in Wisconsin, is the owner of Tre-Azure, a haircare line for multi-textured hair.

She’s been a hairstylist for over 20 years. After Aundrea graduated from beauty school, she started working in a salon and then began managing one. She had just moved to a new town, and these steps helped her build her clientele. 

Later, Aundrea felt the entrepreneurial itch, knowing that she wanted to create a salon that treated employees differently. “ I was a single mom, and I didn't think that they treated their employees well as far as time off and scheduling. So I wanted more freedom over my time,” Aundrea explains. “That is what pushed me into entrepreneurship.” 

Aundrea and a friend bought a salon, which they have now co-owned for the last 15 years.

It was during classes at her local Black Chamber of Commerce that Aundrea heard of Kiva. 

She had already been thinking of ways to diversify her business. Aundrea knew that she could only see so many clients in her physical salon, yet she wanted to share her expertise with as many people as possible. 

“As a stylist, I can only do so much from behind my chair. So I wanted to be able to offer some of my knowledge through products and tools.”

That’s why Aundrea created a line of products for people with multi-textured hair. 

Aundrea used a $7,500 Kiva loan to help her purchase more inventory for her business. This way, she could also get a better price for the units, which allowed her to create more polished branding, and more.

Black female entrepreneurs in the U.S. face many challenges on the road to opening their businesses, especially when it comes to securing funding. In fact, 61% of Black women in the U.S. have to self-fund their start-up capital. 

Aundrea recognizes this. “ I do think there's barriers as far as capital is concerned.”

And she notes that discovering alternative sources of capital can be difficult. “I think there's a lot of different opportunities, but I think you have to go out and learn about them. They're not readily, easily available if you don't know [about them].”

That’s why, Aundrea says, she’s grateful for her Kiva loan, “...because I think going through a traditional loan as a startup is really hard.”

Aundrea’s advice for other Black women entrepreneurs? Get to know each other, and help each other discover new opportunities. “ Network with people, with other female entrepreneurs or entrepreneurs in general in your area, and see what's out there.”

More work left to do in supporting Black businesses

The progress Black entrepreneurs, including Black women entrepreneurs, have made is astounding, considering a long history of discriminatory practices and a present-day reality that still echoes and enforces the inequalities of the past.

The Kiva U.S. program recognizes that financial inclusion is needed not only around the globe but also in the United States, where communities that have been and still are systemically marginalized lack equal opportunity to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams. 

A few statistics illustrate this clearly:

BIPOC-owned businesses are three times more likely to be turned away by banks. 

Black businesses are turned down twice as often for loans, compared to their white counterparts. 

And, as mentioned, 61% of Black women have to self-fund their own start-up capital. 

Additionally, for Black women in particular, research shows that even though Black women in the U.S. start businesses at a high rate, only about 3% of Black women are running what are called mature businesses, or businesses that have survived more than five years or so, depending on the industry.

This means that more support is needed to help these businesses not just survive but thrive beyond the initial phases of securing capital and the first few years after opening their doors.

Click here to learn more about how you can support Kiva U.S. entrepreneurs.