Greater New Orleans Development Foundation

Greater New Orleans Development Foundation (GNODF) and its affiliate Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.) is launching GNOpivot, which is an initiative to help regional companies pivot standard operations to provide critical products or services for the fight against COVID-19.

GNOpivot had two goals: 1) Save lives by helping Louisiana fight COVID-19; and 2) Help sustain the Greater New Orleans economy by helping companies develop new revenue sources and maintain jobs.

As firms shifted operations to new pandemic-related products and services, the need for a plug-and-play marketplace emerged. Thus, GNODF and GNO, Inc. rapidly launched the GNOpivot Marketplace to provide a free online sales platform for regional businesses.

With the regional momentum and collaboration of GNOpivot demonstrated, GNODF will use this EDA grant to launch a follow-on program called GNOpivot 2.0 that will transition from “P.P.E. to P.P.P.T.” (Personal Protective Equipment to Post-Pandemic Products and Technologies). GNOpivot 2.0 will work directly with regional companies to leverage existing assets and create new innovations and business lines via collaboration with university researchers, corporate labs, startups, and investors. GNOpivot 2.0 will address specific post-pandemic market opportunities, driving collaborative innovation and providing the framework to quickly scale.