About Our Founder

Meet Inna Kinney, ECDI's Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Through more than 20 years in the field of economic and community development, Inna Kinney has devoted her career to helping people across Ohio find financial and professional stability through small business ownership.

She started this work when she developed and managed an entrepreneurship program to assist new Americans who were resettling in Central Ohio, as part of her role with Jewish Family Services – the same organization that helped her family settle in Columbus when they immigrated from the former Soviet Union in 1974.

Inna witnessed, firsthand, the opportunities – as well as the struggles – that small business entrepreneurship presented to her family and others in her community. Her personal experience as a member of an immigrant family and, later, as an advisor to others, inspired and informed the development of ECDI in 2004.

The organization is based on the principle of leveling the playing field for those who face systemic barriers on the road to business ownership. ECDI invests in individuals through funding, business training, and mentorship, with the goal of making a lasting impact on communities by creating social and economic change.

In 2021, ECDI was named the top SBA microlender in the United States. As a leader in the CDFI industry, Inna continues to ensure ECDI leaves a lasting legacy.

Inna serves the community on local and national boards, including the Columbus Jewish Foundation.