 About Esperanza Crane
 Director, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development Arkansas Economic Development Commission
Esperanza Massana Crane is the Director of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development Division at the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC). In this role, she leads the agency’s strategic efforts to foster growth within Arkansas’ small business and entrepreneurial ecosystem, driving initiatives that support innovation, economic development, and statewide business expansion.
Massana Crane began her career at AEDC in 2013 as a project manager on the Business Development team before being named Director of Marketing in 2016. She served as the director of the Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Division from 2021 to 2023.
She currently serves on the boards of the Central Arkansas Library System, the Little Rock Sister Cities Commission and the UALR College of Business Advisory Council. In 2022, the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas selected her as its Woman of the Year in Business for its Power of the Purse Awards. Massana Crane is also a graduate of Leadership Greater Little Rock Class XXX and a graduate of Leadership Arkansas Class XII.
Originally from El Salvador, Massana Crane holds both a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Harding University, which recognized her as its 2022 Outstanding Young Alumna. She speaks fluent Spanish and German, as well as intermediate French. She lives in Little Rock with her husband Christopher and son Sebastián.
