Over 50% of AAPI Small Business Owners Didn't Know They Qualified for COVID Relief Funds
Starting a new business in the United States can be a difficult task for anyone, especially if you are an Asian American or Pacific Islander. The necessary capital, working through legal jargon, understanding of opportunities open to you - these can all be hard things to navigate, especially if there is a language barrier involved. 34% of AAPI have only limited English proficiency, specifically 20% of Indians and Filipinos and 50% of Vietnamese and Chinese Americans. This can be a significant roadblock for an AAPI business owner, especially since there aren’t many translation services available from every government agency. Technical assistance can help bridge the gap from an idea to a business.
Technical assistance (TA) refers to education and guidance to help small business owners navigate essential information—often ‘technical’ and complicated in nature, ranging from credit, to finances, and government regulations—to ultimately fulfill their entrepreneurship dreams. This could include developing a business plan, building a marketing strategy, providing accounting services, or helping with applications for government programs or relief. TA programs work closely alongside business owners to ensure that they are in compliance with legal requirements and also so they are informed on opportunities from the government which they might be eligible for. Over half of AAPI business owners missed out on COVID relief in 2020 because they didn’t even know it was available or that they were eligible. A TA program and outreach would help make sure that benefits like those are never missed.
National ACE has already done some work with TA programming. In 2020, we implemented a grant from the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) to develop programming which helped over 16,000 AAPI owned small businesses get access to capital, apply for EIDL loans, PPP, and remain resilient. More programs are available through the Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative and the MBDA, but these programs should be made accessible and relevant to all, including AAPI business owners.
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