Our Approach

Our mission is to build scalable and sustainable ventures that promote inclusive economies in American cities. Our ventures create greater access to job, education and asset ownership opportunities for underserved communities.

We founded Civil Labs in response to the economic shifts occurring in the San Francisco Bay Area and the disproportionately negative impact of these changes on long-time residents of color, a dynamic not limited to the Bay Area. We wondered: how might underserved communities better benefit from the upside of economic growth? One answer lies in an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem for social ventures that create job, education and ownership opportunities: Civil Labs.

Civil Labs is proudly based in Oakland, California, a multicultural city and hub of social innovation. We are continually inspired by the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of our community. We incubate our community-based ventures with community members, engaging them in research, development and launch of our products and services. For example, we launched Civil Pops with three teenagers from East Oakland in July 2016. The young team helped to develop recipes, brand, and business strategy. Together we developed a venture that has the potential to scale, creating good jobs for Oakland youth.

Contact us if you are interested in collaborating with Civil Labs.