Black business owners speak about minority entrepreneurship growth in North Carolina
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Black business owners speak about minority entrepreneurship growth in North Carolina
August is National Black Business Month in North Carolina. Black and Hispanic owned businesses grew 65% between 2017 and 2022. In 2017 Black entrepreneurs made up 3.7% of business owners. Just five years later that number grew to 5.7%. Former Carolina Panther Damiere Byrd started Bumble Roofing of Charlotte earlier in 2025. The N.C. Department of Commerce says that minority-owned businesses have contributed to job creation, and community development across the state. He says networking as a minority business owner has helped him move forward. He hopes to set an example for future minority business owners to follow in the footsteps of his parents and start their own business of their own in the city of Charlotte.
Minority businesses have grown across North Carolina. The state’s Department of Commerce found that in 2017 Black entrepreneurs made up 3.7% of business owners and just five years later that number grew to 5.7%.
Cheryse Terry is the owner of Archive CLT — a coffee shop and co-working space that is an archive of the city’s and country’s Black history and culture that she’s collected for more than a decade. Terry grew up in the city and in 2022 when she started her business, says she wanted to bring something different to Charlotte.
“Knowing that Black people have always existed this way, especially in Charlotte. Like we’ve always had our own businesses, our own culture, our own entertainment. I think that can inspire non-Charlotteans, and Charlotteans that just need that little reminder that, listen we’ve been here and we’ve been fabulous,” says Terry.
Over in Camp North End, Surefire Market has been in the works for decades. Co-owner Magloire Lubika explains that his parents were Black entrepreneurs first. They opened their first convenient store on West Boulevard and Remount Road in 2001.
Lubika says, “You know, my parents, I thought they were successful you know running their store 20 years, for 20 years. But we took it to a new level with the education and the opportunities that we were afforded to do.”
Lubika says he’s grown up around a network of Black businesses. Over the years he says he’s seen those businesses reach new heights. He hopes to set an example for future minority business owners.
He says, “I think when they see me, they’re like, ‘yeah, okay I can do it too.’ You know because we all come from the same struggles just like you know, stay focused, stay determined, stay consistent.”
Former Carolina Panther Damiere Byrd has also taken on entrepreneurship for the next season of his career, starting Bumble Roofing of Charlotte earlier in 2025. He says representation is important across industries, especially for younger people.
“If they’re not able to make in what we call higher education there’s trade and there’s trade industries that have so much growth,” says Byrd.
Byrd says his business is built on transparency and education. He says it’s been important for him to work with homeowners to make the best decisions. He says networking as a minority business owner has helped him move forward.
“We all help each other out; we’re always near a home. We are able to pass knowledge that we normally wouldn’t be able to have,” says Byrd.
The N.C. Department of Commerce says that minority-owned businesses have contributed to job creation, and community development across the state.
Download the free WBTV News app for the latest stories sent straight to your phone.
Copyright 2025 WBTV. All rights reserved.