We’re Nurturing UNDERREPRESENTED Entrepreneurs to Beat the Odds
90%
of startup’s fail
18%
of first-time startup founders are successful.
10%
of new businesses don't survive the first year.
22%
of startups that fail don’t have a sound marketing strategy.
The Racial & Wealth Gap in the U.S.
Income Disparities: On average, Black and Indigenous women earn just 61 cents for every dollar earned by their white male counterparts. This wage gap not only affects individuals but also perpetuates generational inequalities.
Wealth Inequality: In 2022, for every $100 in wealth held by White households, Black households held only about $15, a gap that has grown since 2019. (Brookings, 2024) This gap has remained stubbornly persistent for three decades and has actually widened in recent years, even as wealth rose across all groups. (Brookings, 2024) Persistent racial wealth gaps translate into lower homeownership, less business equity, and reduced ability to invest in long‑term wealth‑building opportunities across BIPOC communities. (NCRC, 2022) According to a study by McKinsey, If we change nothing, the Black-white wealth gap will cost the U.S. GDP 4-6 percent or $1 trillion by 2028.
Entrepreneurial Disparities: While entrepreneurship is a pathway to wealth creation, BIPOC women and nonbinary individuals face significant barriers in accessing capital and resources. Less than 1% of venture capital funding goes to businesses led by BIPOC founders, limiting their growth potential.
Source: Common Future
Black Women in the U.S. are the Fastest Growing Entrepreneur Group.
But they’re STILL NOT WINNING.
2M
business owned by Black women in the U.S. representing about 14% of all women‑owned firms
61%
of Black women self-fund their new businesses.
$24K
the average revenue of a Black-woman owned business in the U.S.
Black women are leading new business creation – but still not winning.
1. Only 2% of venture capital funding goes to U.S. female-only founder teams. Between 2019 and 2024, Black/African American women‑owned businesses saw revenue grow by over 80%, yet they continue to face greater funding constraints and income volatility than most other groups. (Wells Fargo, Small business Resources 2025)
2. In 2024, Black/African American women owned an estimated 2.02 million businesses in the U.S., representing about 14% of all women‑owned firms and showing the fastest growth in firm count among major women‑owner groups.
3. Most Black women founders still rely heavily on personal savings, family capital, and informal lending circles, because traditional bank lending and venture capital remain difficult to access. 61% of Black women entrepreneurs self-funding their startup capital. This comes even though just 29% of them live in households with incomes over $75,000, compared to 52% of White men.
4. In 2019, Black female founders earned an average revenue of about $24,000 per firm, compared with $142,900 among all women‑owned businesses, according to a report commissioned by American Express. (2021) Concurrently, Black women–owned businesses generated about $51.4 billion in revenue and employed 376,500 workers in more recent analyses drawing on the same Amex report. This gap reflects not a lack of ambition or skill, but systemic barriers like smaller startup capital, concentration in lower‑margin sectors, and lower approval rates for bank loans and other financing.
Sources: Chase, AMEX, Wells Fargo, State of Black Women Entrepreneurship Report.
Why Focus on U.S. Caribbean Led Brands & Organizations?
The Caribbean's cultural, economic, and social impact in the U.S. and Canada is substantial, spanning business, social media, and various industries.
General Demographics & Growth
The Caribbean diaspora in the United States is comprised of more than 8.5 million individuals who were either born in the Caribbean or reported ancestry of a given country in the Caribbean (U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 ACS.)
The Migration Policy Institute notes that about 4.5 million Caribbean immigrants (foreign‑born) lived in the U.S. in 2019, about 10% of all U.S. immigrants.
Major concentration areas for Caribbean residents: New York (48%), Florida (27%), New Jersey (8%), with growing presence in Texas and Georgia
Caribbean Economic Impact in Business
U.S. and Canada Markets:
Immigrant Entrepreneurship: Caribbean immigrants and diaspora communities contribute billions annually to the North American economy through small and medium-sized businesses in industries like food, retail, hospitality, tourism, and entertainment. Caribbean-owned businesses often dominate niches like restaurants, fashion, haircare, and events. For example, Jamaican jerk and Trinidadian doubles are staples in urban areas.
Tourism and Hospitality: Many Caribbean brands partner with U.S. and Canadian travel agencies, promoting "Caribbean lifestyle experiences" valued at $3 billion annually.
Caribbean American-owned businesses have grown by 28% since 2015, outpacing the national average of 18% (U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 ACS.)
Remittances
Money sent home by Caribbean people in the diaspora is one of the region’s most important and stable financial flows.
In 2025, remittances to Caribbean countries are projected to reach about US$20.9 billion, up 9.2% from 2024 and representing roughly 12% of all remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean. About half of those funds come from the United States and another 10% from Canada, highlighting how much Caribbean families and local economies depend on the success of Caribbean‑led businesses abroad. (https://publications.iadb.org )
Caribbean Trade & Growth
The United States trades more than $50 billion in goods annually with Caribbean countries, with a U.S. goods trade surplus of about $12.5 billion in 2025. The wider Latin America and Caribbean region is projected to grow only around 2% per year through the mid‑2020s, with persistent inequality and high informality, which makes diaspora entrepreneurship and remittances even more critical as growth engines. (https://ustr.gov/)
Industry Concentration
Caribbean American entrepreneurs show strongest presence in:
Food Service & Restaurants (22%)
Healthcare & Medical Services (18%)
Professional Services (15%)
Beauty & Personal Care (12%)
Import/Export & International Trade (10%)
Combined Social Media and Business Impact
When combining the business contributions of Caribbean entrepreneurs, their influence in travel/tourism, and the monetization of cultural trends on social platforms:
Estimated Annual Value in U.S. and Canada: $10-$12 billion.
This reflects their reach across industries, including small businesses, the tourism economy, and the social media-driven "Caribbean lifestyle" economy.
Success Metrics
Caribbean American businesses that implement strategic planning tools show 65% higher survival rates after 5 years
Top performing sectors:
Food & Beverage: 72% success rate after 3 years with proper planning
Healthcare Services: 68% success rate
Professional Services: 64% success rate
Caribbean immigrants have immense social capital: deeply entrenched immigrant networks and geographically densely concentrated – which is integral to the entrepreneurial process. CBN serves to be a platform where Caribbean Americans business owners can gather, engage in rich discourse about our culture and entrepreneurship and our work aims to further help close the wealth gap.
Caribbean founders and community leaders have unique insights, resilience, and innovative ideas—all needed for transformative solutions built with impacted communities in mind.
We believe their impact, when nurtured to its fullest capacity, can help grow our communities, economies, and a more sustainable Caribbean ecosystem.
Facts About Caribbean people in the U.S.
The Caribbean diaspora in the United States is comprised of more than 8.5 million individuals who were either born in the Caribbean or reported ancestry of a given country in the Caribbean (U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 ACS.)
The largest Caribbean immigrant sources to the U.S. are Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago and Haiti.
The largest Afro-Caribbean immigrant population in the U.S. is from Jamaica, and 53% of its population is geographically distributed across New York NY, Ft. Lauderdale FL, and Miami FL.
There are approximately 1.3 million Caribbean nationals in the NY/NJ/PA area alone (U.S. Census 2020).
Source: U.S. Census 2020
