State Rep. Jake Wheatley (D-Allegheny) recently criticized the lack of assistance for minority-owned businesses negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
These businesses are the ones hurt the most by the pandemic, he said in a statement and will experience significant decreases in revenue this year.
“In the last decade, minority businesses accounted for more than 50 percent of the 3 million new businesses nationwide, creating nearly 5 million jobs,” Wheatley said. “At present, there are now more than 4 million minority-owned companies in the U.S., with annual sales totaling close to $700 billion. But despite that growth, major disparities remain when it comes to their access to capital and other business opportunities. The COVID-19 pandemic has made that disparity even worse. Furthermore, national figures show that half of black-owned businesses nationwide will close permanently due to the pandemic.”
Recently, the second round of COVID-19 Relief PA Statewide Small Business Assistant Program grants were awarded. Of the 859 historically disadvantaged businesses that applied, only 218 received funding.
Only 10 percent of minority-owned businesses were approved for Paycheck Protection Program loans.
Wheatley said he was working on a bill package that would provide $3 billion in assistance to minority-owned businesses.