About ECDI

Small businesses create communities. They enrich and support the lives of entrepreneurs, their employees and families, and the people they serve. They are what makes local economies thrive!

At the root of every business are determined, dedicated people – and at ECDI, we support and invest in those people.

We are fiercely dedicated to assuring every entrepreneur – regardless of where they came from, where they live, their gender, or their race – has access to funding and the business mentoring services they need to build a small business that thrives.

The Economic & Community Development Institute (ECDI) is based in Columbus, with offices in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Akron, Canton, Toledo, and Portsmouth. For small business clients in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, we serve as a one-stop resource center. We are a leading SBA microloan intermediary, a certified Community Development Corporation, and Treasury-designated Community Development Financial Institution.