Tulsa Foundation Helping Spanish-Speaking Entrepreneurs Launch Food Businesses

The Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation is bringing back a program to help Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs launch their food business.

El Programa de Lanzamiento, or the launch program, is a program taught completely in Spanish to give Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs the tools they need to start and run a business successfully.

The program started back in 2021, and currently partners with the Tulsa Economic Development Corporation. Forty-six businesses have gone through this program so far.

Entrepreneurs learn everything from marketing and business financing, to permitting and licensing. They also get to make use of Mother Road Market's commercial kitchen.

Program Manager Abel Aguilar said Tulsa is a great spot for new and diverse entrepreneurs.

"Overall, since the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation created Kitchen 66, they saw the need for that education or that guidance in the food industry or in the community here in Tulsa. Tulsa is a great hub for these new entrepreneurs. We have a lot of new culture coming in here so there’s a lot of diversity in our food right now," Aguilar said.

Aguilar said there are a lot more people moving to the area who speak Spanish, and this is one way to help new businesses learn how to operate and succeed.

"We’ve noticed the uptick in the Spanish-speaking language here. It’s not uncommon to see that or that population come and visit the Mother Road Market. We’ve had businesses in here in our pop-up café ranging from Guatemalan to Peruvian," Aguilar said.

Applications for El Programa de Lanzamiento are due Sunday, May 19. There are scholarships available to help offset the tuition if needed.