Access to funding is the biggest challenge faced by Native Hawaiian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander women founders of small businesses in Hawaii, according to a recent report by local tech education nonprofit Purple Maia Foundation and its accelerator program Hawaii FoundHer.
The report analyzes data from applications submitted to FoundHer, a six-month accelerator for businesses that are helmed by Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander or Asian women. It includes responses from 343 applicants across five islands in the summers of 2021 and 2022. Applicants represent industries including technology, fashion, health and wellness, food systems/restaurants, and keiki/education.
“We decided to analyze the data we had from these applications because we’ve noticed a startling lack of data specifically on women entrepreneurs and especially women entrepreneurs who are Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and/or Asian American in Hawaii,” said Nicole Brodie, lead author of the report and director of operations at Purple Maia Foundation, which operates the FoundHer program.
“Even with the limitation of our data being from program applicants and not a general survey, we thought that the lack of data about this population made it worth sharing so that the funding and business development ecosystem in Hawaii can do better to serve women entrepreneurs,” Brodie added.
In the application for the program, applicants were asked to list their single biggest challenge when it comes to growing their companies.
“Unsurprisingly, the most common challenge among applicants, by far, was funding,” the report stated, with a total of 92 respondents listing it as their top challenge.
Another top challenge, which was cited by 54 respondents, was access to business support and expertise, including legal, regulatory and accounting services, as well as mentorship. Fifty-nine companies said their top challenge was sales and marketing, including building brand awareness, differentiating from competitors, and SEO support. Other challenges mentioned by respondents include labor, supply chain issues, and space/rent/location.
Apart from challenges, the report also noted that 60% of “applicants described their businesses as having some sort of social impact, with the most of those (20% of all companies) aiming to perpetuate Hawaiian culture.” Other values listed by applicants in the descriptions of their company include sustainability, empowerment, inclusivity, and community.
Purple Maia and FoundHer noted that while the sample of respondents “was not random and cannot be taken as representative of the state’s population, we do think this report offers insights to anyone seeking to serve Hawaii’s NHAAPI women-owned small businesses.”
“We hope that raising awareness of these women, their companies, and challenges will increase the support that our community provides to help them bolster our local economy,” the report read.
To read the full report, click here.
FoundHer also said that it plans to gather broader related data in the future, and it is currently conducting a survey for all Native Hawaiian-owned businesses in Hawaii. To participate in the survey, click here.
