BRF

This EDA investment will support BRF’s Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program’s (EAP) NorCap: Deploying Capital for Innovative Enterprises in North Louisiana. Created in 2014, EAP provides entrepreneurs with a suite of services to grow the regional innovation ecosystem, providing a “one- stop-shop” for entrepreneurs to access business counseling, education, training, business plan development, financial modeling, and access to capital and angel funds. For more than 20 years, BRF has managed its InterTech Venture Fund and New Louisiana Angel Funds, which have raised more than $14 million while promoting investment in businesses spanning a variety of sectors, including healthcare, medical research, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, IT, and digital media. EAP’s NorCap project will provide fund management support for BRF’s angel, venture capital, and investment funds, including State Small Business Capital Investment (SSBCI) Seed and Venture Capital Funds recently announced by Louisiana Economic Development. EDA funding will provide EAP with resources to access this capital and equitably distribute funds to entrepreneurs in 21 predominantly rural and underserved parishes. In parallel, EAP will leverage partnerships with higher education institutions to increase investment in future-facing industries, such as biotechnology and cybersecurity. Additionally, EAP will use funds to provide the entrepreneur and investor education necessary to facilitate more equitable capital access, recruit more and diverse investors, and strengthen the regional technology-based entrepreneurial pipeline.