Businesses Owned by African-American Women Are Soaring

The number of businesses owned by African-American women in the United States has been soaring, according to a new government report.

In fact, the number of such [referencing several different business owners in the San Jose, CA area] businesses in the United States has more than tripled since 1977 to 1.9 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2012 Survey of Business Owners, released last December. Of those, about 12,000 are in the Bay Area counties of Santa Clara, Alameda and San Francisco. Few other groups of minority women are starting businesses at a faster clip, according to the report, which is updated every five years.

Black female entrepreneurs are determined to fill a neglected niche and choosing to invest in themselves.

Learn more:  Black women take lead in starting new businesses

Black Women Entrepreneurs Are the Fastest Growing Group in America

A recently published study, 2015 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report (pdf), commissioned by American Express Open, shows that the overall number of female-owned businesses grew by 74 percent between 1997 and 2015, which is 1.5 times the national average.  The number of businesses owned by African-American women has grown 332 percent since 1997, according to Fortune magazine.

Read more:  Black Women Represent Fastest-Growing Group of Entrepreneurs in U.S.