Louisiana Entrepreneurship & Economic Development Center (LEED)

Start or Grow Your Business in 6 Weeks

After nine successful cohorts and over 375 participants, Accelerate Northside continues to be a thriving hub for entrepreneurs looking to launch and grow their businesses. We are excited to launch our tenth cohort! The program will be held on six consecutive Thursday evenings from 5pm-9pm beginning October 9 through November 13, 2025.

You, the entrepreneur, have been the driving force behind the success of Accelerate Northside. Your passion for innovation, problem-solving, and community building has shaped this program into what it is today. We're continually inspired by the commitment of those who've participated and are excited to welcome the next group of ambitious entrepreneurs.

Accelerate Northside is more than just a start-up and small business development program — it's about empowering people and their ideas. We believe this next group will bring even more energy, creativity, and growth opportunities.

Thanks to the ongoing support of the Lafayette Economic Development Authority (LEDA), the Louisiana Entrepreneurship & Economic Development (LEED) Center can continue offering this transformative experience for local businesses.

Who Should Apply?

• Existing businesses
• People who want to turn a side job into a full-time business
• People who have ideas for a business

Program Benefits:

• Hands-on & individual attention to help you start and/or grow your business
• Opportunity to build a network with other business leaders
• Successful business leaders as guest speakers & guides
• Guidance & consulting after the 6 week program
• Completion ceremony and certificate of completion

Program Topics: Program Basics: The Entrepreneurial Dream; How to Get More Out of a Business Plan; Getting Resources When You Do Not Have Any; What You Need to Know About the Numbers; Customers Drive the Business; Operations and Other Fundamentals that Matter.

Apply for Accelerate Northside

Start or Grow Your Business in Three Weeks

Women entrepreneurs are shaping the future of Lafayette and Acadiana, launching businesses, solving problems, and strengthening our communities every day.

Accelerate Women's Entrepreneurship is built to support women at every stage of the business journey. Whether you have an idea you've been thinking about for years or a business that's ready to grow, this program helps you move forward with confidence.

Participants gain practical business skills, connect with other passionate women entrepreneurs, and work through real steps that move their ideas from concept to action. The experience is collaborative, supportive, and focused on building momentum.

Nearly 100 women have already completed the Accelerate Women's Entrepreneurship program, and it has been incredible to watch them grow and support each other after the program ends.

Program Details: Tuesdays from 9am-4pm, May 12th, 19th, and 26th, held at the LITE Center, 537 Cajundome Blvd.

Program Benefits: Hands-on & individual attention to help you start and/or grow your business; opportunity to build a network with other business leaders; successful business leaders as guest speakers & guides; guidance & consulting after the 3 week program; completion ceremony and certificate of completion.

Program Topics: Program Basics: The Entrepreneurial Dream; How to Get More Out of a Business Plan; Getting Resources When You Do Not Have Any; What You Need to Know About the Numbers; Customers Drive the Business; Operations and Other Fundamentals that Matter.

Apply for Accelerate Women's Entrepreneurship

An Economic Development Strategy for Louisiana's Coastal Seafood Industry

For as long as people have settled along Louisiana's wetlands, they have fished for shrimp and crab, reeled in catfish, and harvested oysters from coastal reefs. The state's seafood industry has this strong legacy. However, today, it is an undervalued and under-resourced component of rural economies across the coastal parishes. Annually, Louisiana's seafood industry produces an economic impact of over $2.4 billion, and Louisiana's fishermen bring in the second largest volume of seafood by state, second only to Alaska. Despite the importance of this industry to the state economy, economic development initiatives often overlook seafood businesses. This is the case even as the industry struggles to survive devastating hurricanes (such as Hurricanes Laura, Delta, and Zeta in 2020 alone), adapt to supply chain disruptions and reduced demand for seafood caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, compete against increasing volumes of cheap foreign seafood imports, and face an uncertain future along Louisiana's eroding coastline.

In order to highlight this important industry and catalyze economic development efforts to sustain it, the research team actively engaged seafood businesses, learned about their challenges firsthand, and crafted an economic development strategy for the industry grounded in a collaborative research approach. This report characterizes the coastal region of Louisiana and the seafood industry; provides an overview of the seafood supply chain; describes the industry's challenges and needs; and outlines eight goals and 24 strategies to support the industry's long-term success. The economic development strategies are tailored to those who can make a difference. The report's analyses and solutions can be utilized by government agencies and legislators to support business owners pursuing innovative development strategies and economic developers designing initiatives that target critical supply chain opportunities.

This report is the final product of a three-phase research effort supported through two USDA Office of Rural Development Enterprise grants and a grant from the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. Phase one of this research was supported through USDA Rural Development and included the coastal Acadiana parishes — Vermilion, Iberia, and St. Mary. Phase Two expanded the study area with a second grant from USDA Rural Development to St. Bernard, Plaquemines, and rural Jefferson parishes. A third and final round of support from the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board expanded the research to cover every coastal parish and included Cameron, Terrebonne, Lafourche, urban Jefferson, and Orleans parishes. The project team included the Meridian Institute and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration, in consultation with Louisiana SeaGrant.

In Summer 2025, LEED led an Entrepreneurship & Career Exploration Program for ~20 high school and middle school students from the Lafayette Parish School System. This program was led by Dr. Peter Sheppard, Professor & Associate Dean for Research & Strategic Initiatives for the College of Education & Human Development and the Center for Excellence in Education.

LEED and Moody College of Business led a 3-day immersive entrepreneurship program — on Monday the students engaged in team-building exercises and learned about the entrepreneurial mindset and on Thursday they were selling thousands of dollars worth of beverages and snacks at several pop-up stores across campus during the University's summer new student orientation. It was an extraordinary experience for the faculty involved — and we hope it was just as extraordinary for these amazing students.

• Monday — Entrepreneurial Mindset & Team-Building
• Tuesday — Marketing & Creating Customer Value
• Thursday — The Pop-Up Markets & Operations