TULSA, Okla. — A small business incubator coming to east Tulsa will be a first-of-its-kind resource statewide.
The endeavor will focus on Tulsa’s immigrant community, which is interested in bringing new business to the city.
Mayor G. T. Bynum said the goal of a project like this is to create a space where entrepreneurs can come and find everything they might need to start a business all in one place.
Partnering to bring the incubator to the community is Tulsa County, the city, and the George Kaiser Family Foundation.
“We want Tulsa to be the kind of city that anyone around the world who views this as a place of opportunity has all the tools to be successful,” said Bynum. “The people with the great ideas, the future business leaders who come to this incubator, they’re not going to be in a silo. They’re not going to be in a vacuum.”
Something like this will not only benefit the city but also is a bigger investment into the immigrant community that Bynum said the city and state are behind on.
The Global District being the most densely populated area for the immigrant community is why the area was designated to bring more resources locally.
“From an economic development standpoint, we know the cities that are going to thrive in the 21st century are the cities that are facilitating new businesses being established,” said Bynum. “We’ve been focused on creating an environment in Tulsa where new businesses can be successful, but then we also did a study that showed us in our immigrant community, entrepreneurship is off the charts. It is a community that is really ripe for having more services and empowerment when it comes to creating new businesses.”
The location was chosen because of how many successful local businesses are already thriving at the Plaza, with immigrants at the helm. The building’s owner, Esteban Torres, only purchased the property a few months ago but saw something in the site that he knew, if invested in, could bring hope to the community.
“I think the sooner we have better buildings, better parking lots, more businesses moving to Tulsa, I think it’s going to be a good area to visit and shop in,” said Torres.
Bynum said this is something that has been discussed amongst his council for some time, and it’s long overdue. One of the largest hang-ups to getting it going, he said, was to find a way to fund it.
Program Officer Cynthia Hasso with the George Kaiser Family Foundation spoke to how an initiative like this aligns perfectly with the organization’s mission to ensure Tulsa’s young children and families have access to opportunities and resources.
“Our immigrant entrepreneurs face unique barriers to navigating our systems and do so much, really, for our community,” said Hasso. “This incubator will be a place to do that, to be able to get that support, and also to uplift the stories of the businesses that make our community the most culturally diverse place in the heartland.”
Plaza Santa Cecilia will undergo a complete remodel, which is expected to start in the next few months. They hope to be able to unveil the incubator and open it to the public by the end of the year.
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