Economics
Germany’s Black Minority Wants to Be Counted for the First Time
- First widespread effort to survey the community starts in June
- ‘Things you don’t count usually don’t count,’ organizer says
This article is for subscribers only.
When Nana Addison pitched a business to help black people in Germany find styling services tailored to their hair and skin type, she knew from personal experience there was a market, but couldn’t prove it.
Since Germany hasn’t collected information on the ethnic or racial background of its residents since the end of World War II, she had no way of showing how big the potential customer base could be. The fallout was investors rejected her funding pitch in 2018, forcing her to take the long way and finance the startup herself.