In the United States, there is a shortage of direct care workers, such as home care workers, certified nursing assistants, personal care assistants, psychiatric aides, and more.
People in direct care services roles provide care for people with developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, and chronic illnesses. They also help take care of the elderly.
This labor shortage will likely continue to grow.
Data demonstrates that although the number of direct care workers doubled from 2000 to 2022 (from 2.2 million to 5.1 million), it will still fall short of demand between 2022 and 2032.
In other words, as the U.S. population continues to age and the cost of retirement homes rises, there might not be enough direct care workers to support people who need assistance, especially in more vulnerable, marginalized, and lower-income communities.
Black entrepreneurs, especially Black women entrepreneurs, are helping fill this critical gap.
In fact, according to data, Black women, who are the fastest-growing demographic of entrepreneurs in the U.S., are most likely to start businesses in the health care sector.
Get to know one Black woman entrepreneur in Wisconsin who did just that.
Meet Nicole of Anchored Agency & AFH
Nicole is the President and CEO of Anchored Agency & AFH, a Wisconsin-based business that provides home services, developmental services, and mental health care through its adult family homes, which differ from retirement homes and are often less expensive.
Previously, Nicole performed medical administrative work, team leadership, and provider support services at healthcare organizations in her area. And before that, Nicole worked as a certified nursing assistant (CNA).
Helping others had long been Nicole’s passion. “ I’ve always had a heart for helping vulnerable individuals. Advocacy is my thing.”
This passion propelled her career path and stoked her desire to use her skills to reach underserved communities. “When I see things not being done correctly or someone getting mistreated, especially in Black or Brown communities, I'm like, ‘No, no, we gotta do something about it.’”
As Nicole’s vision became clearer, she knew she wanted to use her expertise to support people who lacked equal access to care. “ I started off initially, like, ‘I want to help single moms, individuals that don't know what resources [are available].’”
Plus, she knew she wanted to be her own boss, not just for the sake of autonomy, but also to successfully implement the changes she believed were necessary.
So in 2017, Nicole started Anchored Agency & AFH,
A ramp to growth
In the beginning stages of opening her own business, Nicole learned about Kiva through a brochure geared towards women in business.
Nicole says reading online stories about other entrepreneurs who received Kiva loans motivated her to apply for a loan herself. “When I went on the website, and I read all the different stories on different business owners and entrepreneurs all over the world…and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ I was moved by that.”
Nicole wanted to use a Kiva loan to help her build a new wheelchair ramp in one of her adult family homes. Without a ramp, Nicole was limited in the number of people she could accept into her programs, and she knew that this type of construction project, while expensive, would allow her to better serve people with physical disabilities.
Once her Kiva loan was fully funded, the wheelchair ramp was completed. Now, Nicole could take in more individuals into her adult care home, increasing overall revenue, which later enabled her to open an additional adult family home.
Overcoming barriers to funding
Looking back on the early days of her business, before she received a Kiva loan, Nicole reflects that as a Black woman, accessing the funds she needed was difficult. “ I have experienced some discrepancies within my career path in terms of trying to attain funding for my actual business…as a woman, and also, too, the fact that I was a Black woman.”
Nicole’s experience is backed up by data. In the United States, 60% of Black women have to self-fund their startup capital.
Plus, BIPOC entrepreneurs are three times more likely to be turned away by banks, compared to their white counterparts.
The beauty of paying it forward
Nicole says that one of the best parts of Kiva loans is that people who contribute to a person’s goal can later make another loan to another entrepreneur. She has witnessed this firsthand. People who lent to her business through Kiva have asked for advice on what to do next. “...they've called me like, ‘Hey, I just noticed I got a hundred bucks back…what do I do with this?’...and I’m like ‘pay it forward!’”
Learn more about the Kiva U.S. program and make a loan to an entrepreneur in the U.S. today.
