Helping Minority Entrepreneurs with UX
Project Overview
When I began to approach the end of my Master's program at MICA and thought about what I wanted to focus on for my thesis, the same reoccurring theme kept surfacing. I wanted my project to focus on the power of UX and its ability to help people.
Call it idealistic, but as a UX designer, I believe my superpower is my ability to empathize with users and that UX can make the world a better place. With this project, I sought to understand minority entrepreneurs' access to capital and the unique roadblocks they faced.
Project Scope
This project spanned the course of 8 weeks, from July to August of 2021. Taking an agile approach, I followed the design process, highlighted below.
Discovery Phase
When I started this project, I knew it was a complex and layered problem. Therefore, I felt it important to do my due diligence with research. So, I started by asking the question, “Why should we be shopping at BIPOC businesses anyway?” The answer came down to three major things…
The reasoning is simple and hard to argue. Who wouldn’t want to strive for those things? Yet in my research, I found that BIPOC entrepreneurs often start with significantly far less funding than white owned businesses. According to the Milken Institute, 80% of BIPOC entrepreneurs start with less than $50,000 in capital. Research suggests that these entrepreneurs are more likely to pull from their savings or take out personal credit cards to fund their business. Starting a business with less capital means the business is less likely to be successful and, if they are successful, it will take them longer to do so.
According to the Milken Institute, the majority of BIPOC entrepreneurs don’t even apply for traditional loans from a bank because they’re afraid of rejection. Many lack adequate assets, net worth, and have poor credit scores, thus making them “unbankable” in the eyes of most banks.
Oftentimes, loan officers lack the training and tools to address BIPOC business owners varying circumstances. One study found that loan officers were more likely to provide less information and guidance through the application process to minority business owners, and be more focused on background and credit checks, compared to white business owners. Immigrant business owners faced the challenge of not being provided translated materials or translators through the process.
Historically, Black and Latinx communities have had significantly less access to quality education that could potentially aid them when launching their businesses. Additionally, Black and Latinx community members are less likely to own homes due to redlining. The long-term affects of redlining are ever present, with black homeownership dropping to 40.6% compared to white homeownership at 74%. The gap in homeownership between black and white households has ranged from 20 – 30% over the past 100 years. And lack of homeownership, means lack of assets, which makes it harder for these individuals to access loans from banks.
Problem Statement
With the increasing growth in fintech and awareness of the need to support minority businesses, there is an opportunity to help minority businesses access the capital that can help their businesses survive, thrive, and contribute to economic growth and their local communities.
This project aims to create user-friendly digital tools that help Minority Business Enterprises and Minority Entrepreneurs gain understanding of, and access to, alternative business capital options and gain access to business loans.
Considerations and Constraints
Privacy concerns and legal constraints:
Security and privacy are key components of any financial product. Users need to be comfortable with using the product and sharing their information.
Financial regulations vary state-by-state, making some locations more desirable for adoption than others
App integration
Integrating apps like Square or Google Analytics could enrich the user experience by bringing in key information for businesses.
Accessibility
Keeping diversity and inclusion top of mind, my research found that immigrant business owners often struggle with language barriers. It was important to think about this early and consider how to include multiple languages.
How might we?
How might we improve minority business owners access to capital, while guiding entrepreneurs through their options and application process?
How might we create a product that is culturally competent to minority business owners unique needs?
How might we provide tools for small business owner's long-term success?
User research
For user research, I used surveys and conducted user interviews to better understand my users. Below highlights some of my findings.
Key takeaways
Minority entrepreneurs often face hardships that are unique to their circumstances
Take longer to get started
Have to be willing to wear multiple hats
Not for the faint of heart, have to be willing to hustle.
Ideation Phase
From all of the information previously gathered, I crafted two personas, an empathy map, and user journeys.
User flows and sketching
Design Phase
User Scenario
Kiaria owns her own bakery and after 10+ years is ready to open a new location. She’s worried about her credit preventing her from getting a traditional business loan and wants to go another route, but isn’t sure how. A fellow entrepreneur in her community told her about Change. Kiaria has just downloaded Change and created an account in hopes to find alternative sources of funding.
High-Fidelity Prototype
Next Steps
Sources
“Banks Invest $6.5 Million in Minority-Owned Businesses in Chicago.” PND by Candid, 18 Apr. 2018.
“BMO for Black and Latinx Businesses.” Black and Latinx Business Banking – BMO Harris, www.bmoharris.com/main/business-banking/bmo-for-black-and-latinx/.
Crocker, Makenna, et al. “8 Alternative Funding Options for Small Businesses.” Bplans Blog, 16 Jan. 2021, articles.bplans.com/top-alternative-funding-options/.
Fifth Third Bank. “Capital for Minority Owned Small Businesses.” Fifth Third Bank, Fifth Third Bank, 20 July 2020, www.53.com/content/fifth-third/en/business-banking/growth-and-expansion/additional-sources-capital-for-small-businesses.html.
Nicastro, Steve. “4 Best SMALL-BUSINESS Loans for Minorities of AUGUST 2021.” NerdWallet, 19 Feb. 2021, www.nerdwallet.com/best/small-business/small-business-loans-for-minorities.
Nicastro, Steve. “How to Qualify for a Small-Business Loan in 5 Steps.” NerdWallet, 27 Apr. 2021, www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/how-to-qualify-for-small-business-loans.
Schulman, Carolyn. “Best Practices for Technical Assistance Programs Serving Black and Hispanic Entrepreneurs and Small-Business Owners.” The Milken Institute, Sept. 2018.
Schulman, Carolyn. “THE PARTNERSHIP FOR LENDING IN UNDERSERVED MARKETS Increasing Minority Entrepreneurs’ Access to Capital.” The Milken Institute, Nov. 2018.
“Small Business Administration.” Small Business Administration, SBA.gov, www.sba.gov/.
“Small Business Loans.” Accion Opportunity Fund, 19 Apr. 2021, aofund.org/small-business-loans/.
3D Illustrations – SALY - 3D Illustration Pack (Figma Community), HANDZ - A 3D illustration library (Figma Community), Shopingin - 3D Illustration Pack (Figma Community)
Figma UI assets – Figma iOS UI Kit (Free) (Community), DCY Mobile Crypto Wallet (Free) (Community)
Mockup – iPhone X Clay Style Mockup Bundle