Albany Metro’s Ranks of BIPOC- & Veteran-Owned Businesses Saw Strong Growth in 2021

The Capital Region’s ranks of Asian- and veteran- and equally male/female-owned businesses grew rapidly in the year after the pandemic started, according to a Center for Economic Growth (CEG) analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Annual Business Survey (ABS) data.

In 2021, the five-county Albany-Schenectady-Troy metropolitan statistical area (MSA) had 15,029 businesses. While that was an 8.0 percent decline in businesses from the previous year, the area’s number of Black, indigenous person, and people of color (BIPOC)-owned businesses, or what the Census Bureau classifies as minority-owned businesses, increased by 15.6 percent to 2,087. That included a 25.3 percent increase in Asian-owned businesses to 318.

While previous year data is not available, the area’s number of Black and African American-owned businesses totaled 287 in 2021. Data for Hispanic and Latino-owned businesses in the area was not available.

Between 2020 and 2021, the area’s number of veteran-owned business increased by 8.8 percent to 690 and the number of equally male/female-owned businesses grew by 10.3 percent to 1,211. However, the number of women-owned businesses declined by 14.2 percent to 2,967.

CEG Initiatives

As a Corporate Sponsor of the Tech Valley Center of Gravity, CEG can help engage you in a Manufacturing Incubator Program and Prototyping Center. CEG is also an affiliate of the Capital Region Chamber, which provides support services for entrepreneurs include, loan programs, entrepreneur boot camps ,an MWBE program, and a BIPOC Business Growth initiative.

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