Build Institute

Build Institute empowers people to launch ideas and grow businesses by providing access to education, resources, and a supportive engaged community. We are an incubator and champion of local talent, removing barriers to small business ownership that often exist for women and people of color. Our focus is on serving microenterprises and “Main Street” entrepreneurs - our true neighborhood businesses. Build aims to shift the current paradigm that says small business success must be big and immediate, that taking risks outside of tech - such as retail, services, and arts - is bad, and that investing in women or people of color comes with a lower ROI.

Build Institute was founded in 2012 as part of D:hive a program of the Downtown Detroit Partnership (DDP). We provide tools, resources, support and community that would not exist otherwise. Build Institute’s programming plays an active role in creating a pathway out of poverty by building wealth and ownership for entrepreneurs and their families, leading to financial and economic health and wellbeing. Our programming centers around our four pillars: 1) Learn, focused on our business planning courses, 2) Launch through test-of-concept programs, 3) Fund through our community capital programs such as Detroit SOUP, Kiva and Honeycomb Credit, and 4) Connect through our networking events and groups such as OpenCity and Build Roundtables.