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By Bolaji Okunola
The Black Wall Street Community has reopened membership after six years of developing its systems, platforms, intellectual property, and community structures, unveiling an economic ecosystem designed to connect Africans and members of the diaspora to jobs, contracts, capital, and business opportunities.
King Charles Nwabuikwu Lambert, founder and chief executive of Black Wall Street, said the six-year period was used to build the infrastructure required to support the organisation’s long-term economic vision.
According to Lambert, the initiative now includes 28 mobile applications, 100 economic programmes, a community-based economic model and a network of Pan-African centres intended to support wealth creation, enterprise development and economic participation.
At the centre of the model is a one-time membership structure. Rather than paying annual dues, individuals gain membership through the purchase of 20 philosophical portraits on Redirect Mall and acquire IPs (Investment Points) at $250.
Membership may also be extended to family members, while individuals can purchase additional memberships to support the development and rollout of the 28 applications.
The initiative, whose name was taken from the historic Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, became known as Black Wall Street because of its concentration of successful Black-owned businesses before the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
He further said his commitment to rebuilding Black Wall Street was made in 2002 and was publicly marked in 2021 during the resurrection of the Black Wall Street event, held on the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa massacre.
He, however, disclosed that the present phase of the project is focused on Africa, with the objective of rebuilding the economic strength associated with the initiative through a modern, technology-driven and community-oriented system.
Lambert described the economic philosophy behind the initiative as “Compassionate Capitalism”, built around three principles: Educate, Trap, and Invest.
In his words, “Trap is intended to redirect economic activity into a community-controlled ecosystem that strengthens local businesses; while Invest focuses on converting economic value into jobs, businesses, and investments to create a continuing cycle of growth.”
“The model is intended to challenge economic systems that extract wealth without creating sufficient value in return, with the broader objective of moving Africans from predominantly consumers of goods and services to producers, owners, and participants in wealth creation.”
“The economic vision incorporates intellectual property, diaspora resources and Africa’s purchasing power into a projected cycle of economic activity. The model targets the mobilisation of substantial African and diaspora economic resources and the capture of a share of African consumer spending through businesses, applications, investments, and other economic programmes within the ecosystem.”
Beyond membership, Lambert said the initiative is working towards establishing 14,000 Pan-African Centres across Africa and 1,000 Job Centres in the diaspora. The structure also includes a CEO Forum, eight franchise models and programmes designed around basic human needs, with the aim of creating employment, businesses and sustainable revenue.
“The 28 applications are positioned as the digital infrastructure supporting the wider economic ecosystem, providing platforms through which members can participate in employment, contracts, business opportunities, investment and other economic activities.
“Africans and members of the diaspora have already supported the movement, with Ubuntu, the African philosophy of shared humanity, responsibility and prosperity, forming part of its underlying values.
We identify integrity, empathy, diligence, patience, courage, persistence, contentment with progress and wisdom among its core values.”
With membership now reopened, the organisation said it is inviting professionals, entrepreneurs, academics, engineers, creatives and young Africans interested in participating in the development of businesses, technology and economic opportunities within the ecosystem.
The organisation is directing interested individuals to opportunitypages.com for further information. It has also encouraged support for the Redirect Mall through Black Wall Street Portrait purchases, which generate Investment Points intended to support the development of the applications.
“Money is the engine, values are the road, and a self-reliant, prosperous, and dignified Africa is the destination,” Lambert said.
He added that the overarching objective of the initiative is to create systems capable of producing a new generation of African millionaires and billionaires while encouraging wealth to circulate within African communities.
