Independent since 2015
Renaissance EDC loans: 4% to 6% small business loans in New York City
By Solomon Wiesen, editor. Updated October 2026. Editorial standards | How this site is funded
Renaissance Economic Development Corporation is a nonprofit lender and U.S. Treasury-certified CDFI, created by Asian Americans for Equality and lending since 1997, that makes small business loans of up to $250,000 in New York City, Long Island, the Mid-Hudson Valley and New Jersey. Its main program charges 4% to 6% fixed on up to $100,000 for as long as 72 months, and it is open to pre-revenue startups as well as existing businesses. Its other loans run 8% fixed, and its SBA Community Advantage loans are priced at Wall Street Journal prime plus 4%, or 11% with prime at 7.00% as of October 2026.
Renaissance EDC loans: how much and at what rate
Maximum amount for each Renaissance program, October 2026. Most are fixed at 8%; the core small business loan is 4% to 6%.
Seven New York loan programs
Rates and terms are from Renaissance’s New York loans page and the individual program pages linked from it. None of them publishes a fee.
| Program | Up to | Rate | Term | Fees | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Business Loan Program | $100,000 | 4% to 6% fixed | 72 months | Not published | Pre-revenue startups and existing businesses |
| Express Impact Loan | $15,000 | 8% fixed | 36 months | Not published | Existing businesses, working capital only |
| NYC Elevating Business Loan | $100,000 | 8% fixed | 5 years | Not published | Existing or startup businesses in the five boroughs |
| NY Emerging Entrepreneur Loan Fund | $10,000 | 8% fixed | 3 years | Not published | Existing businesses whose owners have limited credit history |
| Greater New York Loan Fund | $100,000 | 8% fixed | 5 years | Not published | Socially and economically disadvantaged owners in 14 counties |
| SBA Microloan | $50,000 | 8% fixed | 6 years | Not published | Existing microbusinesses and new entrepreneurs |
| SBA Community Advantage | $250,000 | WSJ prime + 4% | 84 months | Not published | Startups or existing businesses without traditional collateral |
Collateral is mentioned only for the Community Advantage loan. If you qualify for the 4% to 6% program, I’d apply there first; it undercuts everything else on the menu by at least 2 points.
What 6% costs next to an advance
A $50,000 loan at 6% fixed over 72 months costs about $829 a month and about $9,700 in interest over the full term; at 4% the interest is about $6,300 (our arithmetic, with no fees added because none are published). A $50,000 merchant cash advance at a 1.40 factor rate costs $20,000 and is repaid in a year or less: by daily debits every business day it works out to about 71% APR over twelve months, 95% over nine and 142% over six. If you are trying to refinance an advance, the Small Business Loan Program, the Elevating Business loan, the Emerging Entrepreneur fund and the SBA microloan all list debt refinancing as an allowed use; our page on getting out of an MCA covers the steps around it.
Applying: a consultation comes first
Renaissance publishes no document list and no application form. Each program page asks you to book a free one-on-one consultation through a contact form, held by Zoom or in person, and advisers then take you through the file. Advisory services are offered in English, Chinese, Korean and Spanish, according to the home page.
Published timing varies by program. Express Impact loans fund two weeks after approval. The Emerging Entrepreneur fund estimates 2 to 4 weeks to funding, and the Elevating Business, Greater New York and SBA microloan pages estimate 4 to 6 weeks, depending on how fast you complete the documents.
Offices
Renaissance lists three New York offices: 2 Allen Street, 7th floor, in Manhattan; 133-29 41st Avenue in Flushing, Queens; and 37-61 84th Street in Jackson Heights, Queens, by appointment only. A fourth office in Palisades Park, New Jersey, is also by appointment. It reports more than 2,500 loans and nearly $66 million lent since 1997.
Public money it lends
The NYC Elevating Business Loan Program is a $5.5 million fund that includes $4 million from Empire State Development through the federal State Small Business Credit Initiative, with the rest from the Brooklyn Social Justice Fund and The Asian American Foundation, according to the Social Justice Fund’s announcement. Renaissance is also on the state’s lender list for the Small Business Revolving Loan Fund, Round 2, as of May 15, 2026, and its mission page says it is an SBA microloan intermediary and a licensed Community Advantage lender. Its loans page adds that it is authorized to offer SBA loans under the Preferred Lenders Program in New York and New Jersey.
It is not a lender for the NYC Future Fund, which the city runs through four other lenders, or for the state’s Main Street Capital Loan Fund.
One 7(a) loan in the SBA file
In our analysis of SBA loan data, Renaissance made one SBA 7(a) loan in the five boroughs from October 2019 to June 2026: a $75,000 Community Advantage loan in Manhattan, approved before fiscal 2024. SBA microloans are reported separately and are not in that file, so the count says little about its lending overall; it does mean Renaissance has no recent 7(a) record in the city to judge.
Other routes, by amount
- Over $250,000, Renaissance’s highest ceiling, a bank SBA 7(a) loan is the route. City 7(a) loans of $150,001 to $350,000 had a median starting rate of 10.55% in fiscal 2024 through June 2026, in the same SBA data.
- If you have been open 12 months with $50,000 in revenue, the NYC Future Fund lends $25,000 to $500,000 at 7.5% through lenders such as Accompany Capital.
- For $1,000 to $15,000 without refinancing, Kiva charges 0% with no fees. For a small SBA loan from a credit union, Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union made 80 7(a) loans in the city in the same data, with a median of $15,000.
- If you need a decision within two business days and have a 640 score, Pursuit’s SmartLoan publishes that timeline, at up to 11.9% plus a 5% fee.
The full list of city, state and community lenders is in our NYC small business loans table.
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