25 In addition, Native business owners consistently reported using credit cards to finance business startups at a greater rate than other startups. 26 The CDFI Fund’s Accessing Capital and Credit in Native Communities Report concludes a possible explanation is that Native business owners have more difficulty accessing lower-cost standard bank loans than do other entrepreneurs.
Native small businesses faced much greater challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and generally received less robust support. 27 Small businesses in tribal areas were  22 See U.S. Small Business Administration, “Small Businesses Generate 44 Percent of U.S. Economic Activity,” news release, January 30, 2019, https://advocacy.sba.gov/2019/01/30/small-businesses-generate-44-percent-of-u-seconomic-activity/.