LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced the graduation of nearly 100 Angelenos from the first-ever LApreneur program class following a ceremony in City Hall. Mayor Bass launched the LApreneur program in May to streamline entrepreneurship education and resources on a new online learning platform that equips business owners with key skills and information to succeed. Photos and broll of the graduation here.
“I want to congratulate the nearly 100 business owners and entrepreneurs who graduated for taking these important next steps to further your business journey in Los Angeles,” said Mayor Bass. “When I was first elected, I wanted to make sure that City Hall was helpful to businesses, not harmful. That’s why I signed Executive Directive 4 and that’s why we launched this program – to ensure that small businesses are given the help they need to thrive in L.A.”
The Los Angeles Mayor's Office of Business and Economic Development collaborated with the City’s Economic & Workforce Development Department to graduate LApreneur’s first cohort. This comprehensive initiative is a partnership between the City, the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, the City’s BusinessSource Centers, and Loyola Marymount University.
Mayor Bass recently announced that the City has helped hundreds of small businesses secure more than $18 million to support the opening and growth of their business since Executive Directive 4 was enacted. Along with assistance securing financial capital, the Mayor’s Office has helped businesses navigate permitting approval processes and other City department processes to accelerate business openings and growth.
Mayor Bass signed Executive Directive 4 in June 2023 to support small business creation, growth and development in the city. B-roll and photos from the ED 4 signing ceremony are available here. Read the ED4 2024 Annual Progress Report here.