Loyola's Entrepreneurial Community comes together at New Orleans Entrepreneurial Week (NOEW)

Every March, New Orleans Entrepreneur Week brings together the people building the future of this city: founders, investors, students, business leaders, and community members who believe New Orleans has something to offer the world.

This year marked a new chapter. After helping bring The Summit to Loyola's campus in 2025, Loyola University's Center for Entrepreneurship & Community Development (CECD) served as sole producer in 2026, building on that momentum and helping guide the event's next phase of growth.

Loyola hosted more than 1,400 founders, investors, students, business leaders, and community members on campus over two days in March for The Summit during NOEW 2026, one of the largest Summit audiences in recent years. Across the full week, more than 2,800 people participated in NOEW events throughout New Orleans, reflecting the growing momentum of the region's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Watch the NOEW 2026 Recap

Mayor Helena Moreno joined attendees on Loyola's campus to discuss the future of entrepreneurship in New Orleans. Loyola voices were woven throughout the program, with faculty from the College of Business, College of Law, College of Music and Media, and the School of Communication and Design helping shape conversations throughout The Summit. Loyola alumni moderated mainstage discussions and led workshops. Eighty-five Loyola students volunteered their time, and many stayed to make connections and experience firsthand what it looks like to build something in this city.

A Jesuit university brings a distinctive perspective to conversations about entrepreneurship and innovation. At Loyola, entrepreneurship begins from a different question: not just what are you building, but who does it serve and what does it leave behind?

That perspective was evident throughout The Summit. Students shared space with founders. Investors sat beside first-time entrepreneurs. Community leaders exchanged ideas with faculty, alumni, and business owners. Conversations that began in classrooms continued in hallways, networking events, and informal gatherings across campus.

For many attendees, this was their first introduction to NOEW. In fact, 62% of Summit attendees were attending the event for the first time, demonstrating the event's growing reach and Loyola's role in welcoming new audiences into the entrepreneurial community.

NOEW returns March 8–13, 2027, with The Summit returning to Loyola University New Orleans on March 11–12.

To learn more about Loyola University's Center for Entrepreneurship & Community Development, visit startup.loyno.edu. For the latest NOEW 2027 updates, visit noew.org.