U.S. Small Business Owners: COVID-19 Impact

We partnered with Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs)  in the US to understand the impact of COVID-19 on small businesses and the experience of Paycheck Protection Program Loans (PPP) by listening directly to business owners. With racial disparities of COVID-19 already well-documented in the United States, we wanted to hear directly from underserved small business owners to understand how they are managing through the pandemic and what they need to survive and recover. 

We heard from 1,073 small businesses that were largely turned away by traditional banks. Our respondents were customers of six CDFIs that processed a combined 6,013 PPP loans in Round 1 and 2 and distributed $274,491,228 in COVID relief to businesses.

We uncovered a number of key insights to help CDFIs, investors, and policymakers to better respond with support for the recovery of businesses and jobs. For example, while CDFIs were essential in reaching small business owners that were largely left out of PPP assistance nationally, Black-owned businesses were less prepared to deal with COVID-19 challenges than White-owned businesses. By better understanding small business owners’ experience and outlook, banks, investors, and policymakers can be responsive and supportive to preserve businesses and jobs. 

To learn more about our findings, download the report below.