EAF was founded in 2022 by HIAS, the Jewish humanitarian organization that provides critical services to refugees, asylum seekers, and other forcibly displaced people around the world. What began as a microenterprise development program of HIAS in 2017 serving two geographic markets, has since developed into a separate wholly owned subsidiary serving 14.

In that time, we have served over 500 entrepreneurs through our loans products and services. We have provided over 170 loans totaling over $1 million to refugee entrepreneurs across the United States, with 87% of loans going to low-income individuals and 52% of loans made to women-owned businesses. EAF and our partners have also delivered over 9,000 hours of business training and technical assistance, helping business owners develop the knowledge, skills, and business opportunities to help their businesses thrive.