Source: nerdwallet.com

Minority-owned businesses are growing at a faster pace than overall U.S. businesses. Minority entrepreneurs owned 8 million, or 29%, of the nation’s nearly 27.6 million businesses as of 2012, up from 5.8 million in 2007, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. However, securing financing can be a challenge for minorities. According to the federal Minority Business Development Agency, minority entrepreneurs may have lower credit scores and fewer assets to secure loans than other business owners. The average credit score of a minority small-business owner is 707, which is 15 points lower than the average of all small-business owners in the U.S., according to a 2016 study by credit bureau Experian.