Dive Brief:

• DoorDash will match loans for U.S.-based Black-owned restaurants participating in its Black-owned Businesses program that are approved by financial nonprofit Kiva for a loan. DoorDash will seed a revolving loan fund starting at $150,000 with the potential to grow the investment in the coming months, according to an email sent to Restaurant Dive. All of Kiva loans are crowdsourced and provided at a 0% interest rate with no fees. Merchants participating in DoorDash’s Black-owned Businesses program will receive details on how to create a loan request this month.
• The food delivery company also added a new in-app feature on DoorDash and Caviar to highlight independent Black-owned businesses and Black entrepreneurs to make it easier for customers to support these businesses. Participating restaurants across 30 states are searchable with the keyword “Black owned” and are identified by a banner on their store page. Customers will also see Black-owned carousels on DoorDash in select markets, including Washington, D.C.; Baltimore; Brooklyn and Manhattan in New York City; San Francisco Bay Area’s East Bay; Cleveland; and Richmond, Virginia. Caviar customers will see the carousels in Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area’s East Bay and Brooklyn and Queens in New York City.
• All merchant partners in the Black-owned Business program will also receive $0 delivery fees on DoorDash and Caviar through the end of 2020. Independent Black-owned restaurants in the U.S. and Canada can also sign up for DoorDash and Caviar for a zero commission fee for 30 days.

Dive Insight:

Searches for Black-owned businesses skyrocketed 1,785% from May 25 to the end of June compared to the three weeks prior, according to Yelp data emailed to Restaurant Dive. Various food delivery platforms have responded by adding features over the last month to make it easier for customers to show their support for Black-owned restaurants and companies in the wake of protests against systemic racism. 

DoorDash initially launched its efforts in June in partnership with its Black@DoorDash Employee Resource Group, according to a company blog post. The initiative included donating $1 million — with $500,000 going to Black Lives Matter and $500,000 to create a fund directed by the Black@DoorDash ERG to go toward state and local organizations — and working toward increasing diversity in its leadership teams.

Providing financial backing could be a boost for Black-owned restaurants, especially because banks are twice as likely to offer a business loan to a white applicant than a Black applicant, according to a 2017 study from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. Going through the loan process is also more tedious for Black business owners, with banks more frequently asking for more information than white owners. 

DoorDash is one of several companies trying to support Black-owned businesses. EatOkra, a four-year-old app, has offered a free directory to help consumers find Black-owned restaurants and food trucks in over 20 cities. In June, Uber Eats added an in-app feature to promote Black-owned businesses under a banner on the app’s landing page in select markets, according to Delish. The company also waived delivery fees for Black-owned businesses for the rest of the year. Uber also donated $1 million to the Equal Justice Initiative and the Center for Policing Equity. Postmates added features to support Black-owned businesses in June as well, allowing customers to keyword search “black owned." It also waived delivery fees for these merchants and openly supports police reform through donating to the Minnesota Freedom Fund and joining various nonprofit efforts.