CUEE

What CUEE does

CUEE, Inc., operating as Citizens United for Economic Equity, is a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) founded in December 2008 and headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana. The organization provides low-interest commercial loans and business advisory services to small businesses with 100 or fewer employees, with an explicit focus on women-owned and minority-owned businesses in the Greater New Orleans Region and the Northshore of Louisiana. Since inception, CUEE has deployed over $13 million in capital and served more than 250 small businesses.

The product offering combines three loan structures (long-term, short-term, and gap financing) with an advisory service branded as Business Therapy, which provides hands-on business consultations alongside capital deployment. Loan processing is stated at four to six weeks, and the organization also lends to nonprofit organizations in addition to for-profit small businesses. Operations are run by a small staff led by a Director of Operations and a Loan Servicing Manager, and the organization is supported by formal partnerships with the New Orleans Regional Black Chamber of Commerce and the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, which generate borrower referrals into the target segment.

CUEE's business model is that of a mission-driven nonprofit CDFI rather than a commercial lender: capital is sourced through a mix of philanthropic and concessional funding channels, deployed at below-market interest rates, and supplemented by advisory engagement to improve borrower outcomes. Distribution is primarily relationship-driven, relying on direct appointments, community presence accumulated over fifteen years, and chamber referrals rather than paid marketing channels. The organization has stated a strategic goal of scaling annual originations from approximately 50 loans per year to 300 loans per year, a six-fold expansion that would require a corresponding increase in deployable capital and operational capacity.

Name

CUEE

Legal name

CUEE, Inc.

Website

https://cueeinc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CUEE, Inc. (Citizens United for Economic Equity) is a New Orleans-based nonprofit CDFI founded in 2008 that provides low-interest commercial loans and business advisory services to small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses in the Greater New Orleans Region and Northshore.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Development Lending

NAICS

Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399)

SIC

Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153)

akta.pro primary industry

SBA/Government-Backed & Development Finance Loans (FSAKAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Business Planning, Pitching & Competitions (Pitch Decks, Demo Days) (EDAMAHAB)

Keywords

• Community development lending
• Small business loans
• Nonprofit financial services
• Commercial lending
• Business advisory services

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Loan Interest Income: CUEE generates revenue through interest charged on low-interest commercial loans provided to small businesses. As a nonprofit lender, the organization combines mission-driven lending with sustainable financial operations to support disadvantaged businesses in Southeast Louisiana.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CUEE is a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution that provides low-interest commercial loans (long-term, short-term, and gap financing) and Business Therapy advisory consultations to startups and existing small businesses with 100 employees or less. The organization primarily serves women-owned and minority-owned businesses in the Greater New Orleans Region and the Northshore of Southeast Louisiana.

Product overview

CUEE (Citizens United for Economic Equity) is a non-profit lender offering a two-pronged financial services portfolio: Commercial Loans (available as long-term, short-term, and gap financing) and Business Therapy (advisory consultation sessions). These services target startups and existing small businesses with 100 employees or less in the Greater New Orleans Region and Northshore area. CUEE focuses on supporting small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses through low-interest lending and personalized business guidance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commercial Loans Low-interest commercial loans offered in long-term, short-term, and gap financing options to startups and existing small businesses with 100 employees or less in the Greater New Orleans Region and Northshore. CUEE has provided over $13 million in low-interest loans to more than 250 small, women-owned and minority-owned businesses since December 2008.
• Business Therapy

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $13 million in low-interest loans disbursed since December 2008
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• New Orleans Regional Black ChambercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partnership for economic advocacy and business development. CUEE is listed among partner resources on the chamber's website, indicating collaborative efforts to support minority-owned and disadvantaged businesses in the New Orleans region.
• New Orleans Chamber of CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with the major business organization in the Greater New Orleans region. Serves as a resource for small business support and economic development initiatives.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kiva: Kiva is a nonprofit microlending platform that crowdfunds zero-interest loans for underserved small businesses and entrepreneurs globally. It is a direct peer to CUEE in mission (economic inclusion, community-based lending) and in offering low/no-interest loans to disadvantaged borrowers.
• TruFund Financial Services: TruFund is a nonprofit CDFI providing capital, advisory, and capacity-building to small businesses and community organizations in underserved communities across the South and beyond. It is a direct peer in nonprofit CDFI structure and underserved-SMB mission.
• LiftFund: LiftFund is a nonprofit CDFI that provides small business loans and advisory services to underserved entrepreneurs, including women- and minority-owned businesses. It is a direct peer to CUEE given the shared nonprofit CDFI model, mission-driven underwriting, and small-business lending focus.
• Hope Credit Union: Hope Credit Union is a CDFI and member-owned credit union serving underbanked communities across the Deep South, including Mississippi and Louisiana. It is a direct peer in mission (economic equity, underserved markets) and geography overlap with CUEE.
• Pathway Lending: Pathway Lending is a CDFI providing small business loans, coaching, and capital to underserved entrepreneurs across the Southeast. It is a direct peer to CUEE in nonprofit CDFI lending model, geographic region, and small-business advisory approach.
• Accion Opportunity Fund: Accion Opportunity Fund is a CDFI providing small business loans, advisory, and resources to traditionally underbanked entrepreneurs in the U.S. It closely mirrors CUEE's mission of expanding capital access to women-owned and minority-owned small businesses.
• Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI): CEI is a CDFI providing loans, equity investments, and business advisory services to small businesses and underserved communities, with a focus on quality job creation. It is a direct peer to CUEE in CDFI structure, mission-driven lending, and integrated business advisory.
• Grameen America: Grameen America is a nonprofit microfinance organization providing small loans, savings programs, and financial education to women entrepreneurs in low-income U.S. communities. It is a direct peer given the shared nonprofit, women-focused, microenterprise lending model.

Regional players

• Greater New Orleans, Inc. Greater New Orleans, Inc. is the regional economic development alliance for the New Orleans area, partnering with public and private stakeholders to grow the regional economy. It is a regional peer that operates in the same geography as CUEE and shares the small business and economic equity focus, though it is an economic development alliance rather than a direct lender.

Others

• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA): The SBA is a federal agency that guarantees small business loans delivered through partner lenders and administers disaster assistance programs (e.g., the SBA COVID-19 Disaster Assistance referenced on CUEE's website). It is an adjacent ecosystem participant whose programs directly shape CUEE's borrower pipeline and competitive context.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cueeinc
• Facebookfacebook.com/cueeinc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CUEE