Keona Cowan

Keona Cowan is Chief Lending Officer at Invest Detroit, a Detroit-based nonprofit lender, investor, and partner focused on equitable economic growth. Invest Detroit’s current staff page lists her as Chief Lending Officer, and its 2025 annual report also lists her in that role. Earlier public sources identify her as Executive Vice President, Lending, including Invest Detroit’s 2021 annual report, City of Detroit project releases, and MEDC’s 2021 interview with her.

Her work centers on Invest Detroit’s lending platform, including real estate, small business, and commercial and industrial programs. In a 2022 Michigan Chronicle interview about Ebiara, Cowan said her role is tied to “loans for small business real estate development and commercial and industrial,” and framed the work as access to capital through local real estate initiatives.

Cowan has been a visible spokesperson for Invest Detroit’s neighborhood finance work, especially the Strategic Neighborhood Fund and Ebiara. She is also listed as chair of Invest Detroit’s CDE Board in the 2021 and 2025 annual reports. Public sources reviewed did not verify her education history.

• Invest Detroit’s stated focus is to bridge funding gaps for equitable development, mixed-income housing, and high-growth startups in the region, while dismantling barriers for historically underserved communities.
• Cowan has described Invest Detroit as a “mission-driven lender, investor and partner” supporting businesses and real estate projects that improve quality of life for Detroiters through inclusive housing, neighborhoods, jobs, resources, and business growth.
• For small businesses, Cowan said Invest Detroit looks across industries, including businesses with a brick-and-mortar location, from very small teams up to roughly 200 employees, with a particular focus on minority and immigrant entrepreneurs.
• In real estate, the focus is neighborhood commercial corridors, mixed-use development, affordable housing, and emerging local developers building track records.
• Through Ebiara, Cowan’s focus includes growth capital for BIPOC-owned development firms. She said Ebiara aligns with Invest Detroit’s mission of “lifting up and providing access to capital for the unbanked, underbanked community.”
• Ebiara’s model is not simply project debt: Kresge describes it as low-cost capital that can act as an alternative to equity, plus coaching, technical assistance, and access to assets for emerging Black and Brown developers.