Louisiana

Program # of Grants EDA Funds
Economic Adjustment Assistance 3 $1,900,000
Public Works 3 $3,100,000
Planning 8 $1,239,000
Technical Assistance 4 $610,171
Total 18 $6,849,171

During Fiscal Year 2013, EDA invested $6,849,171 in 18 projects in the State of Louisiana. These projects are expected to create or retain 1,617 jobs and leverage $257,028,571 in private investment, according to grantee estimates. EDA’s investments help Louisiana communities achieve bottom-up, locally-defined economic development goals and strategies.

EDA offers a complementary, balanced portfolio of grant programs designed to help rural and urban communities grow their private sectors and create jobs.

Investment Spotlight: Idea Village's Entrepreneur Season

With a 13 year track record, Idea Village has solidified its position as a leading driver of entrepreneurship in New Orleans. Since its founding, the Idea Village has provided direct support to over 3,000 entrepreneurs, engaging 2,400 professionals to share more than 72,000 hours of consulting and $3.45 million in seed capital. Collectively, this portfolio generates over $100 million in annual revenue and has created more than 2,000 jobs for the community.

EDA has a strong history of partnership with Idea Village. In 2009, EDA invested $800,000 to create the IDEA CORPS program, matching visiting MBA students with local entrepreneurs and start-up companies to provide technical assistance and business assessment assistance. Two years later, EDA invested $400,000 to help accelerate and strengthen New Orleans' entrepreneurial ecosystem by implementing a multidisciplinary curriculum at the undergraduate and practitioner levels, connecting IDEA CORPS to academic, tech transfer, and business acceleration partners, and scaling the New Orleans Entrepreneurial Week into a regional innovation challenge. These projects are experiencing tremendous success: in 2012, Idea Village received a Gold Excellence in Economic Development Award from the International Economic Development Council in recognition of its Entrepreneur Season model.  The organization has also been acknowledged in global publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Inc., CNN, TIME, and Japan’s Nikkei Times.

Building upon the successful track record of Idea Village's Entrepreneur Season, EDA invested $600,000 to provide technical assistance and facilitate access to capital to an additional 300 new businesses. Idea Village will also significantly increase the scale of New Orleans Entrepreneur Week by increasing the number of forums, workshops, pitch competitions, networking sessions, and attendees through outreach with entrepreneurs, universities, and public and private partners. This investment will help New Orleans further diversify its local economy and solidify its position as a prime location for entrepreneurs.

Report fiscal year

  • 2013