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    Watch Hamissi Mamba’s Keynote from BUILD Institute’s Build Your Biz Summit

    BUILD alum Hamissi Mamba of Baobab Fare recently competed on an episode of Chopped on the Food Network and WON! He is donating his $10,000 prize winnings to Burundi Kids (a nonprofit dedicated to the health and education for women and children in Burundi) and Freedom House (a non-profit supporting asylum seekers in Michigan). Hamissi and his wife and co-owner Nadia Nijimbere opened Baobab Fare’s New Center location in 2021, and we couldn’t be more proud of all their accomplishments since then! Watch Hamissi's keynote talk at BUILD Institute's Build Your Biz Summit where he tells his story:  

    Press Release: BUILD Institute and Honeycomb Credit Partner to Expand Lending Options for Entrepreneurs in Metro Detroit

      BUILD Institute and Honeycomb Credit have partnered in an effort to bring another lending product to Detroit small business owners. The mission of their partnership has been to ensure that mainstreet businesses are thriving through buy/local, shop/local now to include  borrow/local, invest/local endeavours. Based out of Pittsburgh, Honeycomb Credit is an investment crowdfunding platform that connects small businesses looking for expansion loans up to $100,000 with community members who want to invest locally.  Their partnership with BUILD Institute, a Detroit innovation hub that provides services to small business owners including a wide range of business courses, business loans and more,...

    These Organizations Want to Change the Face of Manufacturing in Cities

    "Jacquise Purifoy wakes up every day to face the reality that in her city of Detroit, where 79 percent of the population is black, the average white-owned business makes $1.36 million in revenue a year, while the average black-owned business makes just $32,525 a year. “Generational wealth gaps,” says Purifoy, a black woman. “I’ve had a white client tell me, basically, ‘Thank God Grandma died and gave me $250,000 from her will,’ and they opened a very lucrative business here in Detroit. Sadly when our grandmas die there’s no will, there’s no life insurance, we never get that kind of...

    In BBC: Michigan Central and the rebirth of Detroit

    By Jonathan Marcus "Rick Novasky has never forgotten the day back in the 1980s when he was working a shift in the ticket office at Detroit’s Michigan Central Station. “A gentleman walked up to the ticket window with tears rolling down his cheeks,” he says. “I asked him if he needed help. The man just pointed toward the subway where everybody boarded the trains and said, ‘that's where I last saw my oldest brother back in 1943. He turned around, waved to us and then got on his train.  We never saw him again. He was killed in the Pacific.’ “That was...

    In Forbes: Why Michigan Could Become A Startup Powerhouse

    By Pete Wilkins Contributor // July 16, 2019 "Michigan’s unicorns demonstrate a fertile startup ecosystem with unlimited opportunities. A couple weeks ago, StockX became the state’s newest in a quickly-growing cohort of unicorns, which includes two other startups that also earned the elite status this year. In February, OneStream Software announced that it had not only become a unicorn but that it is profitable as well, an achievement that few startups can claim — even by the time they exit. In the same month, electric vehicle startup Rivian also earned a billion-dollar valuation when it received a significant investment from Amazon. The startup secured another large round of funding just...

    In Inc. Magazine: An Insider’s Guide to Detroit, Everyone’s Favorite Underdog City

    By Kate Rockwood "From The Schvitz to The Shinola Hotel, Detroit, Inc.'s No. 45 Surge City is experiencing a post-bankruptcy entrepreneurial boom. Come for the nascent Ikea competitors--and stay for the emerging Tesla rivals. Startup Neighborhoods Midtown is "one of the most welcoming areas to the startup community," says Ted Serbinski, managing director of Techstars Detroit. At its heart sits Green Garage, a 1920s auto showroom-turned-co-working space that houses 50 businesses, including FoodLab Detroit and solar design firm Strawberry Solar. When Gwen Jimmere was ready to graduate beauty brand Naturalicious from her basement, she went to Corktown, Detroit's oldest neighborhood. "It's where a lot of entrepreneurs congregate," she says,...

    In Rolling Out: Detroit SOUP will help provide 1,000 Black children with swimming lessons

    By Raquelle "ROCKI" Harris // June 16, 2019 "The community came together for Detroit SOUP, a micro-granting dinner focused on highlighting creative projects in the city. Attendees at the event, held at the Jam Handy on Sunday, June 2, 2019, gave a suggested donation of $10 for dinner and a chance to support a local business. There were four presentations from aspiring and veteran entrepreneurs and business owners. Ranging from art, urban agriculture, social justice, education, technology and more, each of the projects fulfills a need in the community."  

    In WEMU: Business Conference In Ann Arbor Focuses On Inclusion, Capital And Connection

    By Jorge Avellan // June 4, 2019 "About 230 business leaders from Southeast Michigan gathered to hear speakers like April Boyle on how companies and organizations can survive in a tough market.  She's the founder and CEO of BUILD Institute, a group that provides entrepreneurs with tools to launch and maintain a business.  She says getting people to realize the importance of buying local is essential. "If we spend our money and dollars with local small businesses, where the owner is from the community, the dollar is recycled.  One dollar is recycled into five, ten dollars and it stays in the community," said...

    Small Business Week at BUILD Institute

    Join BUILD Institute and the SBA for a FREE day of workshops to grow and scale your business for maximum impact. May 7, 2019 from 12 pm to 7:30 pm at 2701 Bagley St, Detroit 48216 The day includes valuable business resources and one-on-one consulting to help you take your business to the next level. 12pm-1pm Resources for the Human Side of Your Business Are you starting or growing a small business and feeling overwhelmed by it all? The SBDC is here to help with a variety of free resources and answers to your questions. 1:15- 2:15pm Marketing & Mail in the Digital Age Those...