Ujamaa

What Ujamaa does

Ujamaa Economic Development Corporation is a nonprofit community development organization organized in 2018 by an Advisory Committee of New Orleans stakeholders including Foundation for Louisiana, the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, Ashe Cultural Arts Center, Market Umbrella, the New Orleans Business Alliance, and Claiborne Corridor business owners and residents. Its mission is the equitable redevelopment of the Claiborne Corridor and adjacent communities, with explicit commitments to cultural preservation, economic opportunity, housing affordability, environmental sustainability, and safe neighborhoods. The organization is anchored in the remedy of documented environmental racism stemming from 1960s I-10 freeway construction, which closed 326 Black-owned businesses on Claiborne Avenue.

The organization's flagship initiative is the Claiborne Corridor Cultural Innovation District (CID), a proposed 19-block transformation of the space under the elevated I-10 expressway from Canal Street to St. Bernard Avenue, organized into 4 distinct cultural zones with green infrastructure goals and executed under a 40+ year CID Master Plan. Supporting programs include the Claiborne Merchants and Business Association (training and capacity building for neighborhood-serving businesses), Community Capacity Building (including a certificated Community Development Finance Course created with the University of New Orleans), the New Orleans Culture Bearers Cooperative (economic capture for Black Masking Indians, Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs, and traditional cultural artists), and the Life History Project (documentation and preservation of culture-bearer narratives). Ujamaa's principal capital project is the Back-A-Town Marketplace, a public market under the bridge seeded by an Economic Development Administration investment in 2017.

Ujamaa makes money exclusively through grants, government appropriations, and charitable donations rather than commercial sales or fees. Confirmed funding sources include the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Highway Administration, the New Orleans City Council, the Mayor's Office of Economic Development, Louisiana Economic Development, JP Morgan Chase ($1 million for Own the Crescent), and the New Orleans Business Alliance (community scholarships). Its customers are not commercial buyers but Claiborne Corridor residents, Black Masking Indians and Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs, Claiborne Avenue small businesses, and culture bearers, with distribution executed through community events, physical marketplaces under the CID, and strategic partnerships with CDFIs and capacity-building organizations.

Name

Ujamaa

Legal name

Ujamaa Economic Development Corporation

Website

https://ujamaaedc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ujamaa Economic Development Corporation is a New Orleans nonprofit organized in 2018 to drive the equitable redevelopment of the Claiborne Corridor, anchoring a 19-block Cultural Innovation District under I-10 and serving residents, culture bearers, and small businesses through grants, training, and cultural preservation programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Economic Development

NAICS

Administration of General Economic Programs (92611), Land Subdivision (2372)

SIC

Services-Management Services (8741), Non-Operating Establishments (9995)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Development & Neighborhood Revitalization (CDBG, Place-Based Initiatives) (BPAIANAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Housing Development, Construction & Rehabilitation Programs (BPAIANAB), State/Provincial Housing, Urban/Regional Planning & Community Development (BPAIABAM), Community Arts, Culture & Creative Placemaking Enterprises (BPAGALAO), Economic Development & Business Licensing (Local) (BPAIACAN)

Keywords

• Community economic development
• Equitable redevelopment services
• Affordable housing programs
• Cultural preservation initiatives
• Merchant capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Grants and Government Funding: Receives funding from Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for redevelopment projects.
2. Donations: Accepts charitable donations to support the mission of equitable redevelopment of the Claiborne Corridor.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Ujamaa Economic Development Corporation is a nonprofit community development organization that drives equitable redevelopment of the Claiborne Corridor in New Orleans through the Cultural Innovation District (CID), a 19-block transformation of the space under the elevated I-10 expressway. It operates programs supporting neighborhood merchants, cultural artists, affordable homeownership, and community capacity building.

Product overview

Ujamaa Economic Development Corporation operates as a unified community development organization rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Its core offering is the Cultural Innovation District (CID), a 19-block transformation project under the elevated I-10 expressway along Claiborne Avenue. Supporting programs include the Merchants Association, Community Capacity Building initiatives, Cultural Artists Cooperative, and Life History Project—all unified under the mission of equitable redevelopment and cultural preservation for the Claiborne Corridor communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Claiborne Corridor Cultural Innovation District (CID): A 19-Block transformation of the elevated I-10 expressway along Claiborne Avenue from Canal Street to St. Bernard Avenue in New Orleans. It is a world-class market with arts, crafts, produce, and seafood vendors, including classrooms and exhibit space, interactive technology, and educational demonstrations.

Products and services

• Ujamaa Economic Development Corporation Community economic development organization with a mission of equitable redevelopment of the Claiborne Corridor and adjacent communities, committed to cultural preservation, economic opportunity, housing affordability, environmental sustainability, and safe and healthy neighborhoods.
• Claiborne Corridor Cultural Innovation District (CID) A 19-block transformation of the elevated I-10 expressway along Claiborne Avenue from Canal Street to St. Bernard Avenue in New Orleans, built with green infrastructure. Includes a world-class market with arts, crafts, produce, and seafood vendors, classrooms and exhibit space, interactive technology, and educational demonstrations for community members, local vendors, and visitors.
• Claiborne Merchants & Business Association Association supporting neighborhood-serving businesses along Claiborne Avenue with training, capacity building opportunities, and merchant association membership for local business owners.
• Community Capacity Building Programs Education and business training programs for residents and association members, including the Community Development Finance Course (a certificated program in real estate development in partnership with University of New Orleans) and the Own the Crescent home ownership program (awarded $1M by JP Morgan Chase for affordable homeownership pathways).
• Cultural Artists Cooperative (New Orleans Culture Bearers Cooperative) Cooperative working with Black Masking Indians, Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, and traditional cultural artists to ensure they can reap economic benefits of the culture they create and support the $10B New Orleans tourism industry.
• Life History Project Initiative to record, document and permanently preserve the life histories of iconic culture bearers of the Claiborne Corridor community, capturing irreplaceable community narratives and cultural heritage.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Foundation for LouisianacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory Committee stakeholder partner supporting equitable redevelopment initiatives
• New Orleans Redevelopment AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory Committee stakeholder partner in redevelopment efforts
• Ashe Cultural Arts CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory Committee stakeholder partner, co-founder Carol Bebelle serves on Ujamaa board
• New Orleans Business AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory Committee stakeholder partner; provides 20 community scholarships for Community Development Finance Course
• Market UmbrellasupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory Committee stakeholder partner in community market initiatives
• Claiborne Corridor business owners and residentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore stakeholder Advisory Committee members driving community-led development
• University of New OrleanscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlagship partnership creating Community Development Finance Course, a certificated program in real estate development
• LaunchNOLAsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner providing business training
• HousingNOLAsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in housing and development initiatives
• Good Work NetworksupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner providing business training and support
• Neighborhood Development FoundationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in community development initiatives
• Empower Your CentssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner providing financial literacy and asset building

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• National Trust for Historic Preservation: National preservation organization protecting historic and cultural places — overlaps with Ujamaa's Life History Project and cultural heritage preservation work in historically Black neighborhoods.
• Trust for Public Land: National nonprofit that creates parks and public spaces from underutilized land — comparable placemaking approach to Ujamaa's transformation of under-bridge space into community amenities, though operating at national scale.

Direct peers

• Ashe Cultural Arts Center: New Orleans-based cultural arts organization preserving African diaspora culture and serving on Ujamaa's Advisory Committee — directly comparable mission of Black cultural preservation and community engagement in New Orleans.
• Purpose Built Communities: Place-based holistic community revitalization model combining mixed-income housing, education, and community wellness in a single neighborhood — closest structural analogue to Ujamaa's corridor-level cultural innovation district approach.
• NeighborWorks America: National network of community development nonprofits focused on affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization through local affiliates — comparable federated model to Ujamaa's community-led local delivery structure.
• Project for Public Spaces: Placemaking organization that transforms underutilized public spaces into vibrant community assets — directly comparable to Ujamaa's CID initiative converting the space under the elevated I-10 into a community gathering district.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): National CDFI supporting place-based community development with resident-driven revitalization, affordable housing, and economic opportunity programs — directly comparable operating model to Ujamaa's combined housing/economic/cultural mission at the neighborhood level.
• Enterprise Community Partners: National nonprofit focused on affordable housing and community development through an integrated housing + economic opportunity model, mirroring Ujamaa's combined Own the Crescent housing and community capacity-building agenda.

Regional players

• Greater New Orleans Foundation: Regional community foundation serving the greater New Orleans area with focus on equitable growth and place-based community investment — comparable geographic scope and mission to Ujamaa's Claiborne Corridor focus.
• Foundation for Louisiana: Louisiana-focused philanthropic foundation supporting equitable community development and serves on Ujamaa's Advisory Committee; operates in the same regional ecosystem with overlapping grantees and mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ujamaaedc
• Instagraminstagram.com/ujamaaedc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ujamaaedc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ujamaa