The biggest challenges AAPI women-owned businesses face

CLOSING THE GAP

Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women are one of the fastest-growing demographics of entrepreneurs — but the lingering Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing problems for these women and the families who depend on their income.

More than 2 million businesses in the U.S. are owned by Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders, according to the Asian/Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce. As of 2020, the most recent year for which federal government data is available, 171,400 businesses were owned by Asian American women and 2,600 by Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women.

Yet the number of AAPI business owners is estimated to have decreased by more than a quarter since the start of the pandemic. Some of this decline can be attributed to structural issues that have afflicted other minority entrepreneurs. Many of these businesses are in the industries hardest hit by job losses since the start of the pandemic, including restaurants, retail and personal-care services.

What’s more, language barriers, as well as a lack of banking relationships, have limited AAPI entrepreneurs’ access to loans and capital, Hello Alice, an online platform for small businesses, reported in 2021.

While there are dozens of professional networks to connect these women with mentors, “very few” provide the capital they need to grow and sustain their businesses in the long term, says Gloria Lau, a  former CEO of the nonprofit YWCA USA.

In 2020, Lau and her co-founder Bella Hughes launched FoundHer, the first small business accelerator for Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and Asian women in Hawaii.

“Women and especially women of color are historically over-mentored and underfunded,” says Hughes, who is also an angel investor and entrepreneur.

When it comes to funding, AAPI women face a double whammy, adds Lau. “On one end of the spectrum, they are still combating the ‘model minority’ myth, which assumes that they don’t need any help,” she explains. “On the other end, they also have to combat harmful racial fetishization, and because of that, their professional ambitions aren’t always taken seriously.”

What’s more, there are millions of Asian American mothers living in multigenerational households who are shouldering the brunt of caregiving for their families, according to Yvonne Hsu, the chief policy and government affairs officer at The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum.

These caregiving responsibilities are often at odds with the demanding schedule of an entrepreneur, says Sung Yeon Choimorrow, executive director of the NAPAWF.

But the AAPI women entrepreneurs she works with aren’t fixated on the obstacles in their path. “That’s the magic and strength of AAPI women,” she says. “We trust in our resilience and, especially after surviving the pandemic, the attitude is, ‘Whatever comes next, we can tackle it. We’ll figure it out.’” 

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