New Study Finds Women-Owned Businesses Were Passed Over in the PPP Loan Process

WASHINGTON, April 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A new nationwide study, released today by Builders + Backers and Her Corner, provides detailed insights into how women-owned businesses fared in pursuing loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP):

1. Women business owners were not discriminated against during the application process. They were, however, passed over in several significant ways throughout the process that left them unable to take full advantage of the PPP.
2. Nearly a quarter of all women-owned businesses surveyed never got their foot in the door to apply. Extrapolated nationally, 3 million women-owned businesses that needed funding critical to stay open likely never even had a shot at a PPP loan.
3. Women relied heavily on large national banks and, when they did, their likelihood of obtaining a PPP loan plummeted. There were also substantial and troubling differences in how women fared between the various financial institutions.
4. Women-owned businesses asked for and received less money than national averages despite evidence that women-owned companies are better investments for financial backers.
5. The PPP loan process was a microcosm of the gender funding gap. From a system with a propensity to discourage them from applying to their own conservative tendencies or fear of being turned down and more, all the ways the financing cards are stacked against women were on full display in the PPP process.

The survey results, full report and recommendations for lawmakers and the Small Business Administration, financial institutions and women business owners are available for download on the Builders + Backers website at buildersandbackers.com/ppp-survey-results.

The study was conducted by Builders + Backers and Her Corner with support from Springboard Enterprises and HelloAlice through a random sample of each organization's membership and networks. The survey was conducted by email on April 17-22, 2020 and 337 usable responses were collected. Survey results were combined with testimonial anecdotes of hundreds of women business owner's experiences in order to shed light on what is happening to small businesses owned by women across the U.S. while also bringing recommendations, strategies and approaches that can help everyone involved in shoring up our nation's small businesses do so effectively and equitably.

About Builders + Backers
Builders + Backers exists to unleash a wave of ideation and experimentation to solve our country's greatest challenges and create a future where everyone, in every community, thrives. Created from three years of research, we share proven frameworks and tools with local entrepreneurial thinkers and doers to equip them to accelerate their communities' economic engines and stimulate flourishing. We scour the landscape looking for stories to inspire the nation to build, and we back the most promising ideas so they can have an impact at national scale. We believe we can come together by building together. To learn more, visit www.buildersandbackers.com

About Her Corner
Her Corner is a Washington, DC-based education-company committed to helping women grow their businesses. The company operates in six states, and has a network of nearly 1,000 businesses, including brick-and-mortar shops like bakeries and fitness studios, service providers like bookkeepers and website marketers, nonprofit organizations, and everything in between. We believe women can grow their businesses through the power of collective intelligence — and our mission is to be part of that growth story. To learn more, visit www.hercorner.org 

About Springboard Enterprises
Springboard's mission is to accelerate the growth of entrepreneurial companies led by women through access to essential resources and a global community of experts. The measure of our success is in the results.  Since 2000, nearly 800 Springboard portfolio companies seeking financial and human capital for product development and expansion have created over $20B in value, are revenue generators and job creators. With 200 exits to strategic acquirers and 20 IPOs, Springboard Entrepreneurs are Transforming Industries. To learn more, visit https://sb.co/

About HelloAlice
Hello Alice is a free, multichannel platform that helps businesses launch and grow. With a community of more than 100,000 companies in all 50 states and across the globe, Hello Alice is building the largest network of owners in the country while tracking data and trends to increase the success rate for entrepreneurs. To learn more, visit https://helloalice.com/ 

CONTACT:
Enid Doggett
202-246-3982
[email protected] 

SOURCE Builders and Backers

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