This Immigrant Heritage Month, we're proud to celebrate the diversity of thoughts and flavors that immigration brings to our tables, our communities, and our society as a whole.
A big driver for small business growth
Immigration is an incredibly important part of the past, present, and future of our society — and its role in business is part of that. In communities across the country, immigrants make up a sizable portion of small business owners. In fact, Inc. reported that immigrants make up 13% of the United States population, but 18% of the country's small business owners. Immigrant-owned businesses also accounted for 30% of overall small business growth.
DoorDash CEO Tony Xu, who emigrated to America with his family when he was a young child, grew up watching his mother run a local Chinese restaurant and helping out with tasks like washing dishes. Witnessing his mother's hard work at a small business in support of his family is a large part of why Tony founded DoorDash. He wanted to create a service that empowered immigrant entrepreneurs like his mother by helping them reach more customers and grow their business.
How DoorDash supports immigrant-owned businesses
In an effort to provide the financial support that is too often out of reach for underserved entrepreneurs, DoorDash partnered with Kiva — a global non-profit whose mission is to expand financial access to help underserved communities thrive.
Our work with Kiva is one part of our efforts to address historical inequities faced by underrepresented entrepreneurs and expand access to capacity-building resources. DoorDash's Kitchens Without Borders program spotlights the stories of immigrant business owners, helping consumers and policymakers to see, appreciate, and better understand the people behind the food they enjoy every day. During the month of June, DoorDash will match 0% interest, no-fee loans for immigrant- and refugee-owned businesses in DoorDash’s Kitchens Without Borders initiative.
In celebration of Immigrant Heritage Month, DoorDash partnered with Kiva to match all loans to immigrant-owned businesses for the month of June, helping businesses meet payroll, buy kitchen equipment, and make other needed investments to grow. During Immigrant Heritage Month, we are expanding our loan matching to include global refugee-owned businesses as well. Apply for a no-fee, 0% interest loan up to $15,000 with Kiva today.
DoorDash is also working to support local merchants with the Main Street Strong Accelerator, which provides a $20,000 grant and an eight-week training course to local restaurants. 47% of restaurants that participated in our first Accelerator are owned by immigrants, including El Taco in Philadelphia.
It's hard to express how huge of a decision it is to leave your country, but the United States is truly a land of opportunity, where many other countries are not. To be an immigrant in the USA with the chance of owning my own restaurant business is the dream for my wife and I, and we are very thankful that we have been able to achieve our dream.
As a company, DoorDash is also committed to advocating for immigrant business owners at the national and local level. Earlier this year, we called upon government officials to prioritize a path to citizenship for the recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). We also partner with nonprofit organizations like the Tent Partnership for Refugees and I Stand with Immigrants that champion the rights of immigrants and refugees.
DoorDash is proud to support immigrant and refugee merchants, Dashers, and communities this Immigrant Heritage Month and in the months and years to come.
