Accelerator coaching New Orleans tech startups through pandemic

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Camelback Ventures says it has a new cohort of entrepreneurs receiving free coaching, capital and access to professional connections through virtual workshops designed to help them navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tech startups in the four-month fellowship are based in New Orleans and trying to solve a number of societal needs, the company said in a news release, such as small business inclusion, safe access to local businesses in light of the pandemic and financial literacy services.

“We are clearly seeing that local business owners are struggling to keep their doors open in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions it continues to place on consumer movement and employment opportunities,” Camelback Ventures founder and CEO Aaron Walker said. “COVID-19 is also hitting minority business owners the hardest. We have a serious problem and CBV continues to find equitable solutions.”

A recent report published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that the number of Black business owners dropped from 1.1 million in February to 640,000 in April.

Camelback, founded in New Orleans in 2015, has created a support group to help its network of alumni in New Orleans and across the nation with COVID-19 resources with the goal of increasing the survival rate of the startups.

Alumni Kaleb Hill, a fourth-generation agriculturalist in New Orleans and full-time farmer, said he uses technology to bring fresh fruit and vegetables to market and has had to change his business strategy this year.

“Due to COVID-19 and with CBV’s support, I had to pivot and reimagine my business model to meet the immediate needs of individuals by recently launching a new e-commerce platform,” Hill said.