This is the number that makes the rest of it something other than a fairness argument. The capital withheld is not redistributed to better uses — it produces a smaller economy than the one that would otherwise exist.
465,202 firms, 84% of them profitable, growing 44% while the comparison group declined, financed at under 2% of venture capital. The shortfall is the $1.1 trillion.
What actually exists
- SBA 7(a) and 504 — federally guaranteed, and the guarantee is the point: it transfers the lender's risk to the government. sba.gov.
- Community Development Financial Institutions — mission lenders that underwrite differently and are federally certified. cdfifund.gov.
- SBA Microloans — up to $50,000 through nonprofit intermediaries, for the requests banks decline without explanation.
- Small Business Development Centers — free counselling and help assembling the package before it goes in. find yours.
- MBDA Business Centers — federal, built for exactly this gap. mbda.gov.
Ask for the denial in writing, every time. A written reason is the difference between a market signal and a closed door — and you are entitled to one under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act for credit applications.
En español
Menos del 2% del capital de riesgo en Estados Unidos va a negocios latinos — mientras hay 465,202 empresas latinas con empleados, que crecieron 44% mientras las empresas de dueños blancos disminuyeron.
Cuando piden financiamiento, solo el 21% recibe la cantidad completa, frente al 40% de los dueños blancos. Y cuando les niegan el préstamo, solo al 51% le explican por qué — frente al 87%.
No es falta de mérito: cuando sí reciben capital, el monto mediano es de $6 millones, por encima de la mediana nacional, y el 84% fueron rentables en 2024.
Pida siempre la negación por escrito. Bajo la Equal Credit Opportunity Act usted tiene derecho a una razón.