A survey of Black businesses in Greater Cleveland has formally captured what many have known for years: Getting access to capital remains a major obstacle. It is the same problem many of their counterparts nationally have.
Still, the results have been useful, say officials for The Presidents’ Council, which conducted the survey. This Black chamber of commerce for Northeast Ohio already had a lot of anecdotal information about the struggles of local Black businesses. Now, fueled by the survey’s findings, the council is seeking to help members get access to capital and other issues raised in the survey that can be crucial to a business’ success.
Nearly 30% of survey respondents said that not having access to capital was the biggest barrier to business growth. Inadequate cash flow was second at 20.5%, and concerns about hiring and people management came in third at 6.8%…