Our Beginnings in Business Education

LAEDA was founded in 1987 with the unique value proposition of revitalizing the City of Camden through community-based business startups and the strengthening of the Latino business community.  Much of LAEDA’s evolution has been tied to the importance of being responsive to the needs of its entrepreneurs.  Throughout it’s history you will find numerous pivots, initiatives and efforts where LAEDA recognized a need, formulated a solution and brought that solution to the market to the benefit of the community and its entrepreneurs.  Since its founding in 1987, LAEDA has built a solid reputation for developing, implementing, and expanding economic development programs that have played a crucial role in revitalizing the City of Camden and empowering its residents.

In collaboration with Rutgers University Camden’s School of Business and its Small Business Development Center, LAEDA created the Entrepreneurial Development Training Program (EDTP) and launched its first session in 1990.  This nine-week course encompasses all areas of starting and operating a business.  75 hours of training take entrepreneurs through best practices in business planning, marketing, accounting, human resources, business law and more.  In September of 2024, we launched the 100th session of EDTP.  The impact of EDTP over the past 34 years is undeniable.  EDTP has been the cornerstone and foundation of LAEDA’s business education training.  Now housed within the LAEDA’s Business Services Center, business education training has expanded to provide training for would-be entrepreneurs from all walks of life and readiness.

Responding to Our Clients Needs – Real Estate Redevelopment

As LAEDA hosted the early sessions of EDTP, we found many of our graduates decided to open their businesses in other communities.  This was due to the lack of suitable commercial properties available for rent.  Much of the city’s commercial real estate was vacant and abandoned.  It’s one thing to find a location, place a security deposit, have a grand opening and open for business.  It’s a whole other story to buy an abandoned building, redevelop that building and open for business.  With this, LAEDA began redeveloping commercial real estate in the city, with the intention of placing its clients in these locations as well as creating acorns in neighborhoods to stimulate growth.

In 1993, LAEDA undertook the first of several commercial development projects in response to the need for suitable commercial space for placement of graduates of the EDTP program. 423 Market Street here in the City of Camden was completely remodeled and served as LAEDA first headquarters and training center. 433 Market Street, 2508 Federal St. and 129 N. Broadway represent nearly 50,000 square feet of commercial office and retail space successfully redeveloped by LAEDA.  These developments have served as the basis of LAEDA’s Neighborhood Commercial Expansion Initiative

Responding to Our Clients Needs – Marketplace Development

As LAEDA moved forward with it commercial development projects, another dynamic arose.  LAEDA found its clients opening their businesses in other communities in search of a more viable marketplace to start their businesses.  LAEDA could not ask someone to take their lifesavings and invested in a market that would not support these businesses.  With this, LAEDA began to look at strategies around developing the marketplace in the city.

In 1999, in response to the need to develop the local marketplace in the City of Camden to place EDTP graduates, LAEDA identified the commercial districts of the City of Camden as the preeminent opportunity for the placement of small businesses. With this LAEDA identified the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s model for commercial district revitalization, known nationally as the Main Street Model to guide its efforts.

Through the assistance of the Local Initiative Support Corporation, Main Street New Jersey and Rutgers University, LAEDA undertook a grassroots effort to organize merchants on the Broadway commercial district leading to a Partners Designation from Main Street New Jersey. In 2006, LAEDA created the Commercial District Revitalization Initiative to formally integrate commercial district revitalization into its economic development programming. Under the support of the CRA and a UEZ contract, LAEDA undertook organizing efforts in the Federal Street and River Road commercial districts which continue as part of LAEDA overall strategy.

LAEDA’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (LCEDS)

The LAEDA Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (LCEDS) is a grass-roots based plan forged over LAEDA’s history.  The LCEDS leverages LAEDA’s experience in business education training, commercial real estate redevelopment and marketplace development to form a holistic approach to community economic development.  The focus of the LCEDS is to the development of an entrepreneurial business climate from the ground up rather than then from the top down. At the core of this plan of action, are three strategic thrusts: growing the marketplace, building the business and empowering the individual. The ultimate goal of this strategy is to generate both economic and employment opportunities that will contribute to the resurgence of the economy in underserved communities. LAEDA believes dynamic economies within these cities’ commercial districts can be created as a result of its LCEDS strategy, resulting in sustained economic and employment opportunities for current and future residents.