Black-Owned Tulsa Organization Is Looking to Rebuild Infrastructure to Support City's Black Wealth Creation

A Black-owned Tulsa organization is looking to rebuild the economic infrastructure needed to support the city’s Black wealth creation 100 years after the Tulsa Race Massacre.

Build in Tulsa was created with the sole mission of rebuilding Black Wall Street by creating an economic infrastructure to support entrepreneurs, technology, and businesses contributing to multi-generational Black wealth. Randolph F. Wiggins, venture partner and managing director, is spearheading the efforts to help rejuvenate Tulsa’s Greenwood District and transform it into the next tech hub.

A supportive ecosystem

A Princeton University alum, Wiggins used his finance, government, and technology background to envision a new initiative that he feels will help impact the Black community in Tulsa for the next century. Through Build In Tulsa, Wiggins and his team are creating an accelerator pipeline and community that will bring Black entrepreneurs in Tulsa and across the nation together to support them in their efforts, providing the financial and social capital needed to get their business off the ground.

“Build in Tulsa is important for the community because it is part of a larger ecosystem of entrepreneurs, leaders, and organizations working to restore and support Tulsa’s Black entrepreneurs and business owners...it is being build to honor the legacy of strength and resilience of Greenwood, Black Wall Street, and North Tulsa,” Wiggins told Because Of Them We Can. 

The organization is looking to transform Tulsa into the next epicenter of Black tech and entrepreneurship in the nation. Through providing resources, networks, and funding, their goal is to amplify the next generation of Black game-changers in Tulsa, making the once thriving district an essential part of the conversation again centering on Black entrepreneurship.

According to Wiggins, one in three Black founders with $1 million or more in venture capital received it from Black-led accelerator programs before graduating to more mainstream programs. The goal of Build in Tulsa is to recreate that same success locally through a Black entrepreneur-centric ecosystem built right in their backyard. He hopes that the entire country will support the efforts to rebuild Tulsa into a thriving Black epicenter of wealth once again. 

“Wherever the future of the economy goes, be it artificial intelligence or life on Mars, we want Build in Tulsa to be...essential to the work. We are building a future where the economy and opportunities to succeed in that economy are more equitable,” said Wiggins. 

For more information on Build in Tulsa, visit the website here.

This article was originally posted on BOTWC