GABAWorks · The GABA Field Lab
We learn what works by building it alongside our entrepreneurs.
African and Caribbean entrepreneurs are not short on talent or ambition. What they have been short on is infrastructure. GABAWorks is where GABA's research meets the community. Through direct support, technical assistance, and business resources, we test what works, measure what changes, and build the evidence base that drives our policy work.
Business consultations
Jobs created
Women-owned businesses supported
Why a Research Institute Runs a Business Program
GABAWorks is our field lab.
A research institute that only studies a community from a distance produces secondhand knowledge. GABAWorks is where we learn firsthand: we serve, we measure what changes, and we carry the evidence into policy.
We serve
Every consultation and every investment meets a real need for a real business. Service comes first, and it is how we earn the trust that honest data requires.
We measure
We document what our entrepreneurs need, where they get stuck, and what changes after support, building primary data on diaspora-owned businesses that few institutions have.
We change policy
What we learn shapes The Legacy Agenda, our policy recommendations, and the next round of support. Then the cycle begins again, sharper each time.
Learning by doing is not new. GABAWorks builds on established approaches in the social sciences.
The Gap We Are Closing
Our entrepreneurs care about their community. They deserve an institution that cares about them.
Across Michigan, African and Caribbean owned businesses are creating jobs for their neighbors, sourcing goods through community networks, and reinvesting in the neighborhoods they call home. These are not just businesses. They are the economic infrastructure of a community long underserved by institutions that were never designed with them in mind.
GABAWorks closes that gap with the technical assistance, direct resources, and market connections that turn a good business into a sustainable one.
Infrastructure is not a luxury. It is the difference between a business that survives and one that does not.
The GABA Marketplace Center
Michigan's first African and Caribbean trade and distribution hub. GABAWorks connects entrepreneurs to the physical infrastructure, supply chain access, and business ecosystem of the Marketplace Center, so growth is not just possible but sustainable.
Apply to GABAWorks →
Family African Market · Detroit
GABAWorks in Action
A freezer. A family. A business built to last.
When the Family African Market in Detroit needed a commercial freezer to preserve inventory and expand capacity, they didn't need advice. They needed a partner who would show up with real resources.
GABA did exactly that. We provided a new commercial freezer and delivered it right to their door, because that is what community investment actually looks like.
- Increased inventory capacity and reduced food waste
- Expanded product offerings for the surrounding community
- Strengthened the long-term sustainability of a family-owned business
- Showed African-owned businesses in Detroit that they have an institution in their corner
What GABAWorks Provides
From first consultation to sustainable growth.
GABAWorks meets entrepreneurs where they are and builds a pathway to where they're going. Every service is personalized, culturally competent, and designed to produce measurable results.
Technical Assistance
Personalized business consultations that identify specific gaps and build a support plan around each entrepreneur's needs and goals.
Direct Investment
When a business needs equipment, supplies, or infrastructure to grow, we provide it directly. Not just advice. Real resources that produce real results.
Capital Connections
We connect entrepreneurs to banking relationships, credit-building tools, and funding sources that have historically been out of reach.
Market Access
Through the GABA Marketplace Center, entrepreneurs gain access to supply chains, trade corridors, and African and Caribbean markets locally and globally.
Workforce Pathways
We connect business owners to employer networks, technology training partners, and workforce resources that help them hire and grow their teams.
Research to Policy
Every business GABAWorks supports adds to the evidence base behind GABA's legislative agenda. The businesses we serve inform the policy fights we take on.
Our Theory of Change
Profit and purpose are not in conflict.
The businesses GABAWorks supports are community anchors. They employ neighbors, preserve cultural heritage, and reinvest in the places they call home. That is the triple bottom line in action.
Apply to GABAWorks
Ready to grow your business?
GABAWorks is open to African and Caribbean entrepreneurs across Michigan. Apply today, and let's build a pathway together.