Inner City Entrepreneur Institute

The Inner City Entrepreneur Institute (ICEI or the Institute) is staying in the fight to educate the public, the private sector, and the government on the need to reinvest in its inner-city neighborhoods locally and statewide. Despite limited private sector, corporate, and government funding experienced by many well-deserved non-profits, ICEI has survived and flourished for over twenty years through sound financial management and continued partnering with organizations that share our vision.  The Inner City Entrepreneur  Institute, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization was formed on February 18, 1998, under the guidance of Ed Morrison/David Dodd and Associates, economic consultants.  The first meeting was called by James K. Elrod, the President of Willis Knighton Health Systems (WKHS), acting chairman and the driving force behind the organization’s formation. ICEI officially opened its office at 820 Jordan Street and started operations on May 1, 1998.  BizCamp is our flagship program.  Our first BizCamp was held in the summer of 2001.  The summer of 2020 would have been our 20th Annual BizCamp!  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 20th Annual BizCamp was held in 2021.  In 2022, we had an awesome BizCamp experience.  We were excited to have our 22nd Annual BizCamp in 2023.  We were ECSTATIC about BizCamp 2024.  BizCamp 2025 was EPIC!! BizCamp 2026 will be the best yet!

Testimonials

Since ICEI's inception in 1998, it has been quietly structuring long term redevelopment strategies to transform the inner city once again into a center of commerce and residential development by implementing changes in governmental public policy and encouraging public-private initiatives that support investments, innovations, and educational growth. To help spur urban economic redevelopment, ICEI has offered and proposed many government policy changes at the city and state levels. Finally, the Institute is very proud of its work to provide internationally recognized, cutting edge entrepreneurship education, life-skills, and leadership training for today's at-risk youth.

TESTIMONIALS

"I was astonished to find the type of commitment and thoroughness that the BizCamp provided to my son Christopher. His business plan's formation and presentation really impressed me. He learned valuable terms and methods that he plans to further expand with a career in business with a real estate concentration. He hopes to become an intern next year to continue working with the camp." - Cynthia Morrow, mother of Christopher Wilson 

"BizCamp is a wonderful training experience for any pre-teen to teenage student who is desirous of being an entrepreneur. This camp provides the basic foundation which the students can build upon and flourish as young entrepreneurs." - Nancy Crockett-Tisdon, BizCamp Administrative Assistant, NFTE Certified Teacher, Caddo Middle Magnet School Teacher

Comments from student evaluations given at the end of camp:

"The concept I learned that was most valuable to me was to negotiate and to learn how to accept the fact you may not start out your business successfully but it takes time and dedication."

"I learned how to do a business plan, and that was fun, but hard, work."

"I learned how to fill out an income statement, and I felt smart once I could do it on my own."

"My BizCamp experience was great. I had fun and learned a lot of things and made new friends."

"I learned that in business, confidence matters because without it you have fewer chances of being successful."

"I would rate my BizCamp experience as a 20 because this has been a wonderful experience for me." *The scale was 1 to 5 with 1 as poor and 5 as excellent.

"The activity that was most valuable to me was the incubator field trip because it gave me an idea of where I can go to get my business on its feet. I would rate my BizCamp experience overall as wonderful and educational. "

"I learned about marketing research. It is most valuable to me because I will now be able to see who is my competition and see if my service will do well."

"I would rate it 10 out of 10 stars."