ECDI Blog

Think local this holiday season! Make it a December to remember. Shopping small keeps your money in our local economy to help make our...

Shawnte Barker’s mother thought it was silly that her 8-year-old daughter asked for a sewing machine for her birthday. Little did she...

On Trac is more than an industrial and private cleaning company. It provides second chances to folks who need stability, support and life...

As you exit the Kroger on Court Street in downtown Cincinnati, you’ll be greeted by a rainbow of historic buildings across the street....

Growing up in Tokyo, Japan, Seigo Nishimura had a love for ramen and the unique ramen flavors from his hometown. A chef and entrepreneur...

The Canton Museum of Art has been an institution in Canton since its founding in 1935. They're a smaller art museum compared to their...

Chris Laffartha, owner of ChrisFit Cross Training, can summarize business, life and exercise in three words: Grit, Grind and Gain. Grit...

“I never knew how much my banking experience was going to come in handy when owning a business,” said Jameson Reeves, who spent a dozen...

Hot Chicken Takeover is a local culinary staple. And yet for much of his career, owner Joe DeLoss wasn’t thinking about chicken. His...

After 35 years working in childcare centers, Michelle Madison was prepared to lead her own. She signed the lease for the future home of...

For Denise Ransom, construction runs in the family. Her dad, Leon Ransom, was the first African American architect in Columbus to work on...

“As your business grows, you want bigger projects and bigger clients. But once you’re at that higher level, it’s easy to forget about...

The name “Killik” is a palindrome. Like “racecar” or “kayak,” it’s a word that is the same when read backwards as it is when read...

If you’ve been struggling to run your small business throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, you’re probably excited about the ongoing...

As a small business owner, you’re wearing every hat. From marketing to finance and everything in between, there are hundreds of tasks to...

Spoil your dad this Father's Day with a delicious meal from a local restaurant. Here are some members of ECDI's Food Fort in Columbus,...

Have you run out of new shows to watch during your hibernation? We found some amazing films featuring Black Women Entrepreneurs perfect...

We want to create a safe space to share opinions and encourage neighborly discourse, in a time when folks' opinions can be very polarized.

New Women’s Business Center of Central Appalachia Will Provide Training, Assistance and Loan Capital to Women-Owned Small Businesses...

Join ECDI President & Owner of Dave's Artisanal Cheesecakes, as they discuss David's entrepreneur journey and how ECDI has played a role.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! Whether that fact makes you grin or groan, there’s no doubt that, after the year we just...

COLUMBUS – The Economic & Community Development Institute (ECDI), Women’s Business Center of Central Ohio (WBC) and ECDI clients won...

In the pre-COVID economy, women and minority entrepreneurs, by and large, enjoyed less access to business capital and opportunities than...

The organization scaled to reach 300% of capacity in three months. People of color were 70% of entrepreneurs served and 51% were women.