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How many Asian American, American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-owned businesses are there?
In 2023, Asian-owned firms accounted for 685,000 employer businesses and 2.8 million nonemployer businesses (those with no paid employees), American Indian or Alaska Native-owned firms for 55,000 employer and 378,000 nonemployer businesses, and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms for 102,000 nonemployer businesses (U.S. Census Bureau, 2025). A separate Census release puts the 2023 count of Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander-owned employer firms at 9,413 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2026).
To put those counts in context, 26.8 million people identified as Asian alone or in combination in 2024 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2026), and 7.7 million identified as American Indian and Alaska Native alone or in combination that year (U.S. Census Bureau, 2025).
Are Asian American entrepreneurs starting new businesses?
In 2025, the Kauffman Foundation’s rate of new entrepreneurs was 0.33% among people identifying as Asian, above the 0.29% rate among those identifying as white (Kauffman Foundation, 2026). The same report found that in 2025 the opportunity share of new entrepreneurs, meaning the share who start a business by choice rather than out of necessity, was highest among those identifying as Asian (Kauffman Foundation, 2026).
How do you choose a franchise that fits your plans and location?
No business category belongs to any community, so be cautious about anyone who points you toward a type of franchise because of your heritage rather than your experience. Start instead with how you want to spend your working day, and use FranNet’s franchise ownership assessment to sort through your priorities. If you want to keep your job while a manager runs daily operations, look into semi-absentee franchises and ask each franchisor how much of your own time hiring and overseeing that manager would take.
If you plan to open on tribal land, raise that early with each franchisor and with your attorney. Ask whether the franchisor already has owners operating on tribal land, whether its franchise agreement and territory terms would need any changes for your location, and which permits or approvals the site would need and who would issue them.
How do minority entrepreneurs get funding to buy a franchise?
Financing takes time to arrange, so it helps to start preparing before you settle on a brand. Many owners of existing small businesses seek outside financing too, and in the Federal Reserve Banks’ 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, 47% of American Indian or Alaska Native-owned employer firms had applied for a loan, line of credit or merchant cash advance in the previous 12 months (Federal Reserve Banks, 2026), as had 33% of Asian-owned employer firms (Federal Reserve Banks, 2026).
Before you meet a lender, gather your personal financial statements, review your credit history and decide how much of your own cash you are prepared to invest. If relatives or a business partner will invest alongside you and share ownership, have your attorney put the terms in writing before you sign with a franchisor. When you compare franchisors, ask each one whether it offers any incentive or program for new owners, including any for minority business owners, and weigh any offer as one part of the total investment rather than a reason to choose the business.
If you are American Indian, Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian, contact the SBA’s Office of Native American Affairs, which works to ensure that people in those communities who are seeking to create, develop and expand small businesses have full access to SBA development, lending and procurement tools (U.S. Small Business Administration, 2026). FranNet’s funding options calculator is also available as you think through how you might pay for a franchise.
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Talk with a local FranNet consultant, free, no obligation.
Where can you find mentors and practical guidance?
Some of the most useful conversations will be with people who already own the franchises you are considering, so ask each franchisor for contact details for current owners and ask several of them what their first year was like and how much time the business takes. If hearing from someone who shares your background matters to you, ask the franchisor whether it can connect you with owners from your community. Alongside those conversations, the SBA’s Office of Native American Affairs offers free technical assistance and entrepreneurial empowerment workshops (U.S. Small Business Administration, 2026).
How does a FranNet consultant help you explore your options?
A FranNet franchise consultant is a local franchise expert who advises you on franchise and business opportunities at no cost and with no obligation. Similar to a real estate agent paid by the seller, FranNet receives its fee from the franchisor of the franchise you may buy. If you tell us a bit about your goals, a local consultant will reach out to talk through your options.
Because a consultant can introduce you to many franchisors, you can put the same questions about incentives, owner introductions and financing to several of them in one place, and your consultant can tell you which franchises are currently available in your area. FranNet consultants will not pressure you or talk you into an opportunity that does not fit your goals, budget or skill set, a commitment spelled out in our Client Bill of Rights.