Incubating Success: Building Capacity for Minority Social Entrepreneurs in Central City, New Orleans
Document Type
Capstone Report
Publication Date
Spring 2015
Abstract
Since Hurricane Katrina, entrepreneurial activity in New Orleans has grown faster than the national average (Plyer, Ortiz, Horwitz, & Hobor, 2013). Nationally, however, there is an overall lack of minority startups that are backed by venture capital (Schmid, 2015). These disparities are evident in New Orleans as well (Walker, 2014). The Foundation for Louisiana (FFL) and Camelback Ventures (Camelback) seek to address this issue through the creation of an empowerment incubator for minority entrepreneurs near the LaSalle St. corridor in Central City, New Orleans.
To this end, FFL and Camelback commissioned the UNO-PLUS Community Development Finance Capstone team to examine the financial feasibility of developing a minority-centered, co-working and incubation space for social entrepreneurs. Over a four-month period, the team: researched the incubator, accelerator, and co-working landscape in New Orleans to assess the need for additional incubator space; identified available sites in Central City best suited for the development of an empowerment incubator; proposed designs for each of those sites; examined the financial feasibility of an empowerment incubator on each of those sites; and explored potential partnership structures for a real estate joint venture between FFL and Camelback.
Recommended Citation
Department of Planning and Urban Studies, University of New Orleans, "Incubating Success: Building Capacity for Minority Social Entrepreneurs in Central City, New Orleans" (2015). Planning and Urban Studies Reports and Presentations. Paper 29.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/plus_rpts/29
Comments
Spring 2014 - Community Development Finance Capstone