How To Close The Black Business Credit Gap

“It’s putting money in Black banks, it’s making those Black banks accountable and then we can then turn around and hire from within our community,” said Ron Busby, President and CEO of the U.S. Black Chambers.

As published by NewsOne. Click here to view video.

Black-owned businesses are suffering because of a lack of access to credit.

According to the 2014 U.S. Census Bureau’s first Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs, Black business owners are three times as likely as Whites to say they need financing, but choose not to apply for it.

Fifty nine percent of Black business owners say they don’t apply for loans out of the fear of not being approved. The fear is justified. Only 47 percent of Black business owners get the full amount they requested versus 76 percent of Whites.

Ron Busby, President and CEO of the U.S. Black Chambers, and Michael Grant, President of the National Bankers Association, joined Roland Martin on NewsOne Now to discuss the Black business credit gap and what can be done to close it.

Busby told Martin Black business owners’ lack of access to credit “has very little to do with our acumen, it has very little to do with our businesses – it really is a conversation about banks not wanting to take the risk to be able to provide those loans to business owners in our communities.”

To alleviate this challenge, Busby said the U.S. Black Chambers has partnered with the National Bankers Association to “increase the awareness and the importance of what Black banks provide.”

Busby also expressed the importance of getting Black communities engaged in commerce. He offered Bank Black, Buy Black as an example of an ongoing conversation about garnering African-American spending power and channeling it back into the community to create jobs, build business and increase wealth.

To facilitate this, the U.S. Black Chambers also partnered with Liberty Bank out of New Orleans to provide the access to credit that Black businesses need.

According to Busby, those with challenged credit scores as low as 560 can secure financing at competitive rates by way of Liberty Bank. He added, “It’s putting money in Black banks, it’s making those Black banks accountable and then we can then turn around and hire from within our community.”

“We got to do things that we can mandate and that we can control and banking Black and more importantly, financing Black, is truly a conversation that needs to be had across the country.”

Watch Roland Martin, Ron Busby, Michael Grant, and the NewsOne Now panel discuss closing the Black business owners’ credit cap in the video clip above.

For those interested in the Liberty Bank USBC Card, which can be used to obtain capital for personal or business use, text USBCCARD to 22828 or click here.

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USBC Commends President Obama for  Presidential Proclamation on National Entrepreneurship Month

Washington, DC– President Obama issued a Presidential Proclamation declaring November as National Entrepreneurship Month. Following the announcement, USBC President Ron Busby released the following statement:

“As the voice of Black entrepreneurs, we are pleased to hear President Obama has declared November as National Entrepreneurship Month.

In his final days in office, President Obama continues to pledge his support of entrepreneurship and the important role entrepreneurship plays in the economy.

As an organization we stood by President Obama during his presidency and will continue to do so once his term ends.

On behalf of the United States Black Chambers Inc. and our membership of Black entrepreneurs and African American Chambers of Commerce, we applaud President Obama for issuing a proclamation dedicated to our nation’s entrepreneurs.”

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While there is no historical evidence that Harriet Tubman ever actually said the words in the headline, there is ample evidence that she had little interest in the limelight and absolutely zero tolerance for wishy-washy, indecisive, half-stepping people on the road to freedom.

I’ve got to believe that she would greet the news that her face will soon be on the U.S. Treasury’s $20 bill with a shrug and ask “…can we use it to buy our freedom?’ Of course we’ve come a long way since the issue of our freedom has been settled, but we’re no where near any resolution on the question of Black America’s economic foundation. Tubman’s face on the new $20 won’t do a thing to change that. Like most of you I understand the symbolism, but I stop short of calling a Black icon’s image on paper currency a breakthrough.

When federal contract awards to Black-owned businesses are shrinking, when the wealth gap between Black families and practically every other slice of American demography is growing, when employers do all they can to defeat legislation that would mandate a true living wage, it should be clear that no matter whose face is on the Treasury bills, Black Americans are seeing fewer of them! That’s a problem that a feel-good demonstration won’t fix.

The U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. works hard to help Black American businesses grow, propelled by the belief that healthy, vibrant Black-owned businesses will result in healthy, vibrant Black communities. I’ll acknowledge that sometimes we feel like Harriet Tubman must have felt when clouds covered the moon and her tired, scared charges on the lonely road to freedom wanted to turn back… afraid of the unknown.

Black America in 2016 literally cannot afford to freeze on the trail to financial freedom. We need to spend more of our dollars in our community supporting local Black-owned businesses. Affordable housing options, educational opportunities, access to adequate healthcare and healthy food choices are the freedoms that hang in the balance today. Reduced unemployment, reduced incarceration, reduced gentrification, reduced dropouts will follow from increased contracting opportunities, increased profitability, increased access to capital and increased access to expanded markets.

So, like everyone else, we are thrilled that America is coming to grips with the horrors of its racist history. We are thrilled that there are efforts underway to correct the blatant omissions in this country’s true historical record.
But, we are absolutely certain that changing the faces on paper money has no value unless there is a corresponding increase in opportunities to earn those dollars.

I believe Harriet Tubman would agree…

In the Spirit of Success,

Ron Busby, Sr.
USBC President & CEO
U.S. Black Chambers, Inc

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