Member Highlight: Renaissance Economic Development Corporation

Roland Kamara, Membership Associate, OFN

May 30, 2026 – 

Read time: 8 minutes

In May we celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AANPI) and are excited to highlight one of our Asian-led members, Renaissance Economic Development Corporation, and its managing director, Jessie Lee.

Renaissance Economic Development Corporation’s mission is to transform low- to moderate-income (LMI) communities and underinvested small businesses in our target markets by providing affordable small-business loans, training, and counseling services. We serve the New York metro area, including New York City, Long Island, the Mid-Hudson Valley, and New Jersey.

In this highlight, you’ll step into the story of Renaissance Economic Development Corporation’s origins and hear Jessie share the “why” that drives her work—offering a glimpse into the heart behind the mission.

1. What makes your organization unique, and how does that help it better serve its community?

We are a nearly 30-year-old organization and were among the first organizations to become certified as a community development financial institution (CDFI) when the designation was first established. Our parent organization, Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE), founded Renaissance in response to the growing needs of new immigrants arriving in New York City during the late 1990s in search of economic opportunity.

Many of these immigrants faced significant barriers to financial stability, including limited English proficiency, unfamiliarity with the U.S. financial system, and difficulty accessing traditional employment opportunities. Recognizing these challenges, AAFE established Renaissance in 1997 to provide entrepreneurial training programs with language-access support. By 2000, Renaissance became a certified CDFI, enabling us to offer microloans that helped newly trained entrepreneurs access the capital needed to launch and grow their small businesses.

Renaissance also became a critical economic first responder for New York City’s small-business community following the Sept. 11 World Trade Center disaster. We were among the first organizations to provide emergency loans to small businesses impacted by the shutdown of Lower Manhattan, deploying $10 million in emergency funding to support recovery efforts.

That experience shaped our long-term approach to disaster response and small-business recovery. In the years that followed, Renaissance continued to serve vulnerable communities during major crises, including Hurricane Sandy and the COVID-19 pandemic, providing critical financial assistance and technical support to help businesses survive and rebuild.

2. What’s your “why” for working in the community development space, and how did you end up at your organization?

My parents owned a small restaurant in the early 1990s, but like many immigrant entrepreneurs at the time, they faced enormous barriers to accessing traditional financing. Because they were low-income, lacked collateral, and did not speak English as their first language, banks were unwilling to lend to them.

Determined to build a better future for our family, my parents turned to a community broker for help and ultimately relied on predatory loans to open their Chinese restaurant. What began as an opportunity to pursue the American dream eventually became a financial burden that our family could not overcome. The weight of those loans ultimately caused us to lose everything.

That experience has stayed with me throughout my life and is deeply connected to why I do this work today. I understand personally how harmful predatory lending can be—not just for a business owner, but for an entire family’s financial stability, security, and future.

3. How would you describe your organization to someone new to community development?

While Renaissance is a small-business lender, we are a nonprofit organization with a mission of community service. Renaissance is a federally certified CDFI with nearly 30 years of history supporting low-income, underserved entrepreneurs throughout the greater New York region by providing access to affordable loan capital and business training. Each year, we serve 1,500 entrepreneurs through our training programs and lend nearly $8 million to small businesses in need (always at affordable rates), with an average loan size of $50,000. By helping local entrepreneurs access the resources and funding they need to grow their businesses, we create pathways to economic opportunity and long-term wealth creation within our communities.

4. How do you describe your organization to members of the community you serve?

Renaissance is a local nonprofit organization dedicated to helping entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses through access to affordable capital and comprehensive business training. We offer services in English, Chinese, Korean, and Spanish to better serve the diverse communities in our region. Our microloan program provides affordable financing of up to $100,000 for a wide range of business needs, while our in-person and virtual training programs focus on key areas such as financial management and digital marketing to support long-term business success.

5. In the past few years, what project or partnership do you feel has had the biggest impact on the community you serve? What can you share about the impact and significance of this project or partnership for the client and local community?

For the last five years, we have partnered with a local digital marketing consultant, Leadflow, that provides digital consulting to our small businesses in multiple languages. Each year, we hold a digital marketing accelerator for four to five months where 20 small businesses receive hands-on digital marketing training. Leadflow becomes participants’ marketing team for those 4 months to help them set up or revamp their marketing strategies. In the last 5 years, we have seen program impact including a 473% average year-over-year increase in participants’ Google Business Profile views, and a 362% average year-over-year increase in website traffic. Accelerator participants have generated over $8 million in revenue during program participation, and several participants have experienced their highest-ever sales months during the program. For a variety of reasons, including language barriers and limited financial means, Digital Accelerator participants would otherwise struggle to access the tools the program provides to increase their businesses’ visibility and supplement revenues. Renaissance is proud to host this program, which helps our clients bridge the digital marketing gap.

6. What’s the biggest opportunity to create greater impact that your organization is considering?

Amid the current affordability crisis, many small businesses are facing significant challenges due to rising operating costs and limited access to affordable capital. To help address these barriers, we are exploring opportunities to pair grant funding with our lending programs to reduce the overall cost of borrowing for our clients. This approach would provide entrepreneurs with the capital they need to launch or grow their businesses while easing financial strain through principal or interest reduction assistance. We are currently considering the development of a loan product that combines our financing with grant support to create a more affordable and sustainable funding solution for small-business owners.

7. What advice do you have for people who are interested in learning about community development and the CDFI Industry?

Those who are interested in learning about the CDFI industry should try to attend an OFN Conference. That would give you firsthand experience of the industry as a whole.

8. What is a challenge facing the CDFI industry right now, and how can the industry rise to meet that challenge?

The greatest challenge I see facing the CDFI industry is the possible elimination of the CDFI certification, which would impact our ability to raise capital from both government and private banking sources, jeopardizing our ability to provide affordable capital to our community members. As an industry, together we need to do our part in connecting with our elected officials and having candid conversations about how the lack of such capital will ultimately impact every community, not just the ones we serve, because our economy is deeply interconnected. When our small businesses cannot survive, it will have a trickle effect on every part of our nation’s economy, which is what we experienced during the pandemic.

9. In one word or phrase, describe your organization’s relationship with OFN. What made you choose that word/phrase?

Support. In the decades of us being OFN members, we have gained critical support in both technical assistance and capital. That support helped us grow our services and make a greater impact in our community.

We thank Renaissance Economic Development Corporation for their membership and all the work they do for LMI communities, underinvested small businesses, and entrepreneurs.

Keep up with everything happening at Renaissance Economic Development Corporation on their website and see how the organization is making an impact here. 

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Tags: CDFI Leadership, CDFIs, Community Development, Economic Opportunity, Member Highlight, Small Business