In the best of economic times, minority-owned construction firms struggle to access the capital they need to operate and grow their businesses.
Many minority-owned businesses, for example, pay higher loan interest rates than their nonminority-owned counterparts, according to a report from the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC). When they are able to secure loans, many times the amounts are lower than those given to nonminority-owned businesses.
Lenders also tend to require a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan guarantee for minority-owned businesses, at least more often than they do for nonminority-owned firms.
