Entrepreneurs Of Color Faced A Huge Funding Gap Before COVID. It May Be Worse Now

Anthony Samuels, CEO of DRB Facility Services, at his office in Copley Place, Boston. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Entrepreneurs of color are less likely to get the funds they need to grow their businesses than white entrepreneurs in Massachusetts. And this capital gap has likely gotten worse during the pandemic, according to a new report out Thursday from the Boston Indicators.

The report found entrepreneurs of color in the state already had an unmet financial need of roughly half a billion dollars a year. And even some of the most successful entrepreneurs of color have faced persistent funding challenges.