The System Is Rigged: Why a Borderless Black Economy Is Our Last Best Hope

By Lwazi Lungile Mhlambi

The promise of entrepreneurship is a universal dream: to build something from nothing, to serve a community and to create generational wealth. Yet, for Black entrepreneurs on both sides of the Atlantic, this dream is often tempered by a harsh reality: the “black economy” remains largely segregated, not by choice, but by a persistent, systemic lack of access to mainstream markets.

While the challenges of capital and credit are well-documented, the most formidable barrier is often the final one—getting your product on the shelf, your service into the corporate portfolio, your brand in front of the right eyes. To understand this global challenge, we can look at the microcosms of Washington D.C. and Atlanta in the United States, and the macro-struggle of post-apartheid South Africa. Their stories, though continents apart, are strikingly similar.

The American Landscape: The Illusion of Proximity in DC and Atlanta

In Washington D.C., the heart of American political power, Black businesses thrive in pockets—on the bustling corridors of Georgia Avenue NW or in the creative hubs of Anacostia. Yet, the path to a lucrative government contract, a procurement deal with a powerful law firm, or a distribution agreement with a major hotel chain remains mostly elusive, especially in the anti-DEI climate. Proximity to power does not equate to access. The networks that govern these transactions are often insular, built on generations of relationships from which Black entrepreneurs were historically excluded.

Atlanta, the undisputed Black mecca of America, tells a more complex story. It is a city where Black political power, cultural influence, and business success are visibly intertwined. From the legacy of moguls like Herman J. Russell to the thriving ecosystem of Black-owned tech startups, Atlanta proves what is possible. Yet, even here, the challenge persists. A brilliant tech founder in Buckhead may struggle to get their SaaS platform into a Fortune 500 company headquartered in the same city. The Black consumer base is strong, but breaking into the broader, predominantly white consumer market—and its vast spending power—requires navigating an invisible wall.

The common thread is “network exclusion”. Markets operate on relationships and trust, which are often built in spaces where Black entrepreneurs have limited representation.

The South African Perspective: Economic Liberation Unfinished

South Africa’s story is one of a dramatic political liberation that has yet to be fully matched by economic liberation. The end of apartheid dismantled legal barriers, but it could not instantly erase centuries of economic disenfranchisement. The country’s JSE, one of the world’s top 20 stock exchanges, is still dominated by large, white-owned corporations.

For a Black entrepreneur in Johannesburg or Cape Town, market access is a multi-layered challenge:

• Corporate South Africa: The supply chains of major mining, retail, and financial institutions remain difficult to penetrate. Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) policies were designed to address this, but they have sometimes created a narrow elite (“tenderpreneurs”) without fostering widespread, meaningful market access for the majority of small and medium Black-owned enterprises.

• The Township Economy: Many Black businesses are confined to the township economy, which is vibrant but characterized by low disposable income and intense competition. The leap from serving Soweto to supplying chains like Woolworths or Pick n Pay is monumental.

• Global Perception: Internationally, there is often a lack of awareness of the sophistication and quality of Black-owned South African businesses, limiting export opportunities.

Here, the barrier is not just network exclusion but also the entrenched structure of an economy designed to concentrate market power.

Bridging the Economies: Solutions for Market Access

The solution is not to simply demand a seat at the existing table, but to build new, stronger tables that connect Black economies across the globe. The focus must be on creating bridges.

1. The Digital Bridge: Creating Global MarketplacesTechnology can dismantle physical and network barriers. We need curated, high-quality digital platforms that exclusively showcase vetted Black-owned businesses from the U.S., South Africa, and the diaspora.
   An “Afro-Diaspora Commerce Platform”: Imagine a B2B platform where a hotel chain in Atlanta can source artisanal textiles directly from a Black-owned cooperative in Durban. Or where a South African retailer can discover a unique health and beauty brand from an entrepreneur in Washington D.C. This platform would handle logistics, build trust through verification, and make global trade accessible.
2. The Corporate Bridge: Mandating “Open Door” MLProcurement 
   Corporate social responsibility must evolve into Corporate Shared Value. This goes beyond one-off sponsorships to embedding access into core business strategy. 
   
   Supplier Development Programs: Major corporations in the U.S. and South Africa should establish mandatory, funded programs that actively mentor, train, and integrate Black-owned businesses into their supply chains. This isn’t charity; it’s diversifying for resilience and innovation.
   
   Diaspora Corporate Partnerships: American companies expanding into Africa should be encouraged (or incentivized) to partner with Black South African firms for market entry, logistics, and distribution, creating a pipeline of opportunity
   
3. The Capital Bridge: Investing in Distribution, Not Just Ideas
   Venture capital and angel investors need to shift their focus. Funding should not stop at product development. A specific class of investment is needed for “Market Access Capital”—funds dedicated to helping Black businesses scale their sales, marketing, and distribution channels to break into new markets.
   
4. The Cultural Bridge: Leveraging Collective Buying Power
   The #BuyBlack movement is powerful, but it can be more strategic. We must formalize our spending power.
   Cross-Continental Trade Missions: Organized trade missions between sister cities (e.g., Atlanta and Johannesburg) can connect business chambers, create joint ventures, and foster a shared identity as economic partners.
   
   Consortium Buying: Black-owned businesses and consumers can form buying consortiums to achieve economies of scale, negotiating better rates and terms collectively, thus strengthening their position in the market.

Our Salvation is in Our Connection

To be black is to be bold. The Black economy is not a problem to be solved by the mainstream; it is a salvation to be built by us, for us. The path forward is not isolation, but intentional, strategic integration—on our terms. By building digital, corporate, capital, and cultural bridges, we can transform the isolated struggles of entrepreneurs in DC, Atlanta, and Johannesburg into a unified, powerful global network.

The markets have been difficult to access because the doors were closed. It is now our time to not just knock on them, but to build new gateways, ensuring that the next generation of Black entrepreneurs can walk through with ease, connecting local success to global impact.

For the love of Azania. 

Lwazi Lungile Mhlambi is an academic, banker and entrepreneur from South Africa with an interest in finance, science and drivers of the Black African condition. He leverages his finance expertise to determine viable solutions for the African diaspora.