The playing field is not level, and it’s never been leveled. As a result, Black people have had to play catchup throughout the generations causing an even wider wealth gap as we see it today.

In order to make the playing field more even, we have to get intentional about inclusive wealth. And the biggest opportunity today is to do everything possible to get Black people involved in the next wave of wealth. That’s cryptocurrency, blockchain and NFTs. That’s technology and all things Web3. That’s real estate and owning the assets in our community. That’s scaling and growing Black-owned businesses to be employers. And that’s also upskilling our youth and workforce to be prepared for the the jobs and opportunities of tomorrow.

Institute of Black Wealth is committed to creating the opportunities that will educate, support, fund, invest, train and prepare our community to not be left behind and to get involved in the new forms of commerce.

We know that this works.

There are models of the past that prove that this type of social engineering works and has created new Black millionaires and a stronger Black middle class in cities like Atlanta, Detroit, and Washington, D.C

Mayors Maynard Jackson of Atlanta, Coleman Young of Detroit, and Marion Barry of D.C. intentionally created policies that would provide Black-owned businesses with access to government contracting. Our approach is to engineer similar structures and accomplish the same through the Institute of Black Wealth and with the support of corporate partners, banking institutions, and funders who understand the role they play in supporting efforts that deliberately address structural inequities.

If we are to make any significant gains and change our trajectory as a community, we’ll have to move together to do so. Nothing big can be achieved alone.

The Institute will facilitate strategic partnerships and alliances that ultimately lead to deal flow and business opportunities that Black entrepreneurs and founders can collectively participate in to achieve scale. Whether the need is access to capital for founders or the scale to competitively win contracts and government procurement, the Institute is available as a platform to leverage to facilitate these exchanges.

Technology and innovation presents the biggest opportunity to even the playing field. New industries are being created around tech, and it is opening up  doors for creatives and founders of all ages and backgrounds to be able to participate. New millionaires are being created through tech, e-sports, gaming, crypto, NFTs and all forms of digital commerce. We can’t get left behind this time around.

Although Black, minority and woman-owned startups do not get the same access to funding and venture capital relationships, platforms like the Institute of Black Wealth aim to make greater access available through institutional and corporate partners. 

Our responsibility as a  community is to educate ourselves on these new platforms, increase our tech understanding, and  expose our youth so that they’re prepared for the future. 

In addition to business opportunities, the Institute will also create educational programming where individuals, students and families alike can learn about new forms of commerce like cryptocurrency, blockchain and NFTs and understand the fundamentals of wealth creation through financial planning, life insurance, homeownership, and investing.