A List Black Business Directories, Marketplaces, Lists and Directory Apps
Updated September 5th, 2021
Many readers want to know how they can help support Black Businesses. BEBN has collected all the known Black Business directories, websites and apps in one place.
There are 2.6 million Black business according to the 2015 census. They employ over 2.2 million people. The coronavirus has shut more than 40% of Black businesses as of April 2020, according to news reports. Protests have spot lighted the economic injustice faced by Blacks in the US.
If you want to help Black business; you must buy from Black business. To help find Black business near you, we have compiled a list of Black Business Directories.
The following websites are for general Black business listings. They may or may not be verified as Black owned and the entry may not be up to date. We do check each directory for basic information in several categories: Restaurants, Bakeries, Hair Care Products, Beauty Salon, Accountants and Web Design, but the real test is finding a Plumber.
Black Business Directories
When you put together a list like this, you get lots of interesting information about Black businesses.
- The top categories are: Health & Beauty, Restaurants and Clothing.
- Our favorite is the Paducah directory. If the people in Paducah, Il, can create a Black Business group on Facebook then anyone can do it.
- We also like Shoppe Black which comes out with curated category lists every month featuring products sold by Black businesses. During the height of the pandemic, they had a list Black owned face mask companies. Very useful.
Finally, if you want to see how good the lists are then try and look for a big dollar, hard to find category like: Cars, Furniture or Home Repair. Our favorite category to test a directory is “Plumbers”. It can be really tough find someone Black, but we found one in Mt. Vernon, NY.
General Lists of Black Businesses
Selective Lists (Curated)
In the Selective lists category, Beyonce’s list is hard to beat. It has a lot of vendors already.
| Name | Type or Category |
| Black Parade Route | Beyonce |
| Shoppe Black | Customized Black business lists in many categories |
| Black Owned Everything | Curated |
| Black Owned Brooklyn | Brooklyn |
| NY Magazine | New York City |
| Afro Bella Black Business Directory | National |
| Experience Black Harlem | Harlem |
| Curious Uptowner | Black Businesses in Harlem |
| Forbes Magazine | National |
| Bold XChange | Curated |
| Buy From a Black Woman | Black Women Business |
| Etsy — Gifts from Black Owned Businesses | Etsy |
Black Restaurant Lists
| Name | Location |
| EatOkra | National (App) |
| Hungry Hungry Hooker | Good List of List compiled from Instagram — National by City |
| Bon Appetit | The best list of Black Restaurant Lists — National by City |
| Black Owned Restaurants | Bay Area, CA |
| Black Owned Restaurants (SF Chronicle) | Bay Area, CA |
| In support of Black Owned Eateries (1000 Listings) | OC, Seattle, Portland, LA, NYC, NJ, Boston, Bay Area |
| Spicy Green Book (200 Listings) | National |
| Blackout Coalition | Columbus, OH |
Black Marketplaces
| Name | Products |
| We Buy Black | Household Products, Health and Beauty |
| Our BOM (Black Owned Market) | Beauty |
| BLK + GRN (Black and Green) | Beauty(Green) |
Non Black websites with Black Business Lists
Black Business Directory Apps
| Application | Description |
| EatOkra | Restaurants |
| BAOBOB | Bay Area Black Businesses |
| Melanoid Exchange | Online Shopping Mall |
| BlackCoin | Black Spending App |
| Black Nation | Find Black Businesses |
| KHARIS Connect | Black Business Directory App |
| RankTribe | Black Business Directory App |
Old / Expired / Under Construction / Unverified / Non-Black
These directories are no longer active or could not be verified
| Name | Location |
| http://www.sflblackbusinessdirectory.com/ | South Florida |
| Maggie’s List | Chicago |
| US African American Business Directory | NY |
| Black Trade Lines | National |
| http://www.blackownedbiz.com/ | National |
| Buy Black 365 — Expired. Facebook ? | National |
| M4BL / Backing Black Business — Not maintained | National |
| Where U Came From – Not maintained. May contain non Black businesses | National |
| Buying Black — Expired | Columbus, OH |
Black Trade and Industry Group
| Name | Products |
| Black Chambers of Commerce | Business |
| National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers (NABHOOD) | Hotels |
| American Economics Association | Economics |
| National Dental Association | Dentists |
| National Association of Real Estate Developers | Real Estate Agents |
| National Bar Association | Lawyers |
| Physicians | |
| National Association of Black Accountants | Accountants |
| National Black MBA Association | MBAs |
| National Society of Black Engineers | Engineers |
Business Opportunity
When my parents grew up, they had the “Green Book” which listed where to stay in the South. It was a matter of life or death. When I grew up, we had “Black Guides” for all the major cities. Now there is no comprehensive national list.
One business opportunity would be to create a national Black business directory in a standard format. The website would be supported using Banner ads from non-minority businesses.
The key is marketing and promotion to establish a dominant US brand in the mind of Black consumers. You want to be the “go to” website and app to locate Black businesses.