For Immediate Release:
2025 BizCamp Begins Monday, June 2, 2025
Shreveport, Louisiana, June 2, 2025
The Inner City Entrepreneur Institute and its young entrepreneurs of BizCamp invite you to the kickoff of the 25th Annual James K. Elrod BizCamp 2025. This year’s camp will begin Monday morning, June 2nd and conclude on Friday, June 13th, on the campus of Northwestern State University (NSU) School of Nursing located at 1800 Line Avenue in Shreveport. A kickoff press conference will begin at 10:00 A.M. There will be opening announcements by the founding Managing Director, former Louisiana State Representative, current Caddo Parish Commissioner Roy Burrell.
This year, the Institute proudly welcomes its newest sponsor and entrepreneurship education partner: The G-Unity Foundation. Founded by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, The G-Unity Foundation empowers youth through programs that promote entrepreneurship, leadership development, and a commitment to conscious capitalism.
BizCamp, now in its 25th year, is an entrepreneurship education and life skills training program for youth, especially at-risk students. It is an initiative of the Inner City Entrepreneur Institute, NSU, and Caddo Parish Schools that provides inner city middle and high school students the opportunity to begin learning how to become business leaders, employers, and better employees. The students of BizCamp will learn to create a business idea, learn the language and knowledge of business and financial literacy, and develop a business plan to present in a competition to a panel of community and business leaders.
BizCamp uses an international entrepreneurship teaching model developed by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). It has been evaluated by Harvard and Brandeis Universities, where Harvard University calls the BizCamp Program a “mini-MBA Program” for youth.
Also, as part of the BizCamp Program, each student is awarded a micro-investment to start their first business by purchasing products from a local warehouse for resale in a real-time competitive Market Place held on Thursday, June 12, 2025 at Mall St. Vincent. BizCamp students will interact with the public, sale their merchandise, and display their marketing and speaking skills learned in the program.
BizCamp will showcase the goods and wares of its students during the Market Place at Mall St. Vincent, 12pm- 4pm. The general public is invited to support the students by shopping and purchasing their goods.
Finally, the BizCamp graduation will be held on Friday, June 13th, 5-7pm in the auditorium of the NSU School of Nursing Campus. For more information concerning BizCamp and the Market Place, contact Rudy Morton, Managing Director of the Inner City Entrepreneur (ICE) Institute at 318.425.4234 or email his office at shreveportbizcamp@gmail.com.