Trump's DEI Rollbacks Slash Black Business Opportunities + Morocco's Promamec Raises $8.5M + Sweden Commits $20M to African Greentech
Black contractors report losing 30-40% of opportunities as DEI requirements disappear. Meanwhile, Morocco's Promamec secures $8.5M for healthcare expansion | Tuesday, December 23, 2025
Three stories define the terrain for Black entrepreneurs today.
First: Trump’s DEI rollbacks are destroying Black business infrastructure in real time.
Seattle contractor Jay Doyal reports general contractors no longer prioritize minority-owned businesses now that diversity quotas are gone—”it’s not a big deal to work with a minority-owned business anymore.”
Tariffs increased material costs 15-30%, and deportations eliminated skilled immigrant labor, forcing Black contractors to compete with unskilled workers at premium wages.
Second: Morocco’s Promamec raised $8.5 million from AfricInvest’s Transform Health Fund to expand medical equipment supply across Morocco, from dialysis systems to surgical equipment.
Third: Sweden’s Swedfund committed $20 million to the Helios CLEAR Fund, a Pan-African climate investment vehicle backing greentech startups in renewable energy, agritech, and climate adaptation.
These aren’t isolated events.
They show how policy changes in one market (DEI rollbacks) create barriers while capital flows accelerate in others (Africa). Here’s what’s happening.
TOP STORIES
Trump’s DEI Rollbacks Slash Black Business Opportunities—Contractors Report 30-40% Revenue Drop as Diversity Requirements Disappear
Black business owners across the United States report significant revenue declines and structural barriers following the Trump administration’s dismantling of federal DEI programs in early 2025.
The rollbacks eliminated diversity requirements for federal contractors, removed minority-owned business quotas, and signaled to corporate America that partnering with Black-owned businesses is “no longer a priority.”
The Policy Impact
Since taking office on January 20, 2025, the Trump administration moved aggressively to dismantle DEI infrastructure across the federal government:
Rolled back civil rights enforcement mechanisms
Eliminated federal DEI initiatives and hiring requirements
Proposed cuts to housing, education, and community programs serving Black communities
Removed diversity requirements for federal contractors and suppliers
The Business Reality
Jay Doyal, owner of Doyal Construction LLC in Seattle, described the immediate impact:
“For me to say that I am a minority-owned business is not a big thing anymore, and it reduces the opportunities for Black-owned businesses if these contractors are not required to work with a minority-owned business.
They were required to meet a certain quota, but now they are not required to work with me as much.
It is not a big deal to work with a minority-owned business because we have a president who doesn’t see any value in diversity or working with a minority-owned business.”
The elimination of diversity quotas means general contractors no longer face consequences for bypassing Black-owned subcontractors.
Doyal reports that opportunities from general contractors have declined sharply—the contracts that previously came through diversity requirements are simply disappearing.
