Central to JEDCO’s main objective of attracting, growing and creating business across Jefferson Parish is its Finance Department. Catering to small businesses unable to acquire traditional bank financing, the Finance Department offers three unique loan programs – JEDgrow, SBA 504 and Seafood Enterprise Assistance (SEA Fund) – designed to support business owners interested in purchasing, expanding and starting up. These loan programs were created realistically to meet businesses where they are, catering to a diverse range of circumstances and needs.
Spearheaded by Jennifer Lapeyrouse, JEDCO’s Director of Finance, the Finance Department’s award-winning team consists of Huyen Nguyen, Business Development Officer, Jessica Lobue, Finance Operations Manager, and Lisa Cabrera, Loan Specialist. Working from JEDCO’s new Finance Center, the team is deeply invested in providing guidance, institutional knowledge and support to businesses, making the loan process easy and approachable.
“We continue to redefine ‘Equitable Lending’ to ensure that JEDCO’s loan programs serve the community with equitable outcomes. We are rewarded by the success of small businesses in Jefferson Parish that would not otherwise be here without funding from JEDCO,” says Jennifer. “These business owners are not just loan customers; our relationship with them is an ongoing partnership where support and promotion is reciprocal.”
Looking at the numbers, JEDCO’s equitable lending translated to 74% of all funded loans going to minority-owned and/or woman-owned businesses in 2021. Just a couple of the Finance Department’s recent projects include Kingfish Cider, the first woman-owned cidery to call Jefferson Parish home, and HookM, a tech company whose app streamlines the process of booking charter fisherman. While JEDCO’s loan programs are administered to elevate the Jefferson Parish economy, their effects cast a wider net in some cases as they help advance projects in new communities across the state.
700 Churchill Parkway · Avondale
504-875-3908 | JEDCO.org/loans
