The government has launched an Ethnic Minority Business Task Force to help ethnic minority firms grow.
The task force will be charged with investigating why ethnic minority-run businesses face additional barriers in accessing finance, which has been suggested in the results of a survey for the Department of Trade and Industry.
The survey found that ethnic minority-owned businesses pay higher bank loan charges than white-owned businesses.
Minister for industry and regions, Margaret Hodge, said: "Why is it harder and costlier for some ethnic minority firms to get a loan than others? I have asked the task force to investigate this and come back with recommendations on ways to address this issue. The task force will propose ways to encourage more ethnic minority participation in enterprise. It will also reach out to potential entrepreneurs in under-represented groups, including ethnic minority women."