2020 - Ahmed Saleh

2020 UBEOC Arthur O. Eve Education and Community Service Award

UBEOC Class of 1998

Mr. Ahmed Saleh in 1993, Mr. Ahmed Saleh escaped Eritrea in Eastern Africa at the age 18. With the assistance of a retired immigration lawyer from the University at Buffalo School of Law, and sponsorship of Vive La Casa (an organization that assists those seeking asylum in the United States or Canada due to the inability to return to their homeland), he arrived alone in the United States speaking very little English.

Mr. Ahmed Saleh.

"EOC gave me the confidence to seek more opportunities offered by the United States."

Mr. Saleh’s resolve and courage to build a better life for himself, was precipitated by the death of his father during his country’s civil war and the passing of his mother.

From 1993-1997, Mr. Saleh worked numerous jobs to support himself, including working as a cashier at a corner store and then as a driver for UPS. In 1997, he enrolled in the English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program at the Buffalo Educational Opportunity Center. Mr. Saleh stated, “I needed to move further ahead. EOC teachers and counselors showed me the way and helped me explore what was out there”.

Mr. Saleh, an African immigrant, worked his way through business school and established Mandela Market in 2007. By opening his market, he made a positive impact on the lives of Buffalonians living in a federally recognized “food desert” on the city’s east side where current options were not accessible for the neighborhood. The market's success led to an expansion in 2012 and a second location opened in 2018.  Mr. Saleh’s work was further recognized when he received funding from the East Side Corridor Economic Development Fund to expand one of his stores. His was one of nine projects identified to receive funding from this initiative to spark revitalization of Buffalo's East Side through investments in the four main north-south commercial corridors: Michigan, Jefferson, Fillmore and Bailey avenues. 

As the owner of two Mandela Markets, Mr. Saleh is helping to alleviate food insecurity and making it easier for Buffalo residents to access fresh fruits and vegetables. Mr. Saleh honors the legacy of Nelson Mandela, South African anti-apartheid fighter, as he lives by his favorite quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.”

Mr. Saleh graduated from SUNY ERIE (formerly Erie Community College) and earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science along with an entrepreneurial certificate from Buffalo State College.  He became a citizen in 2001 and is married with three children. As a community leader and social activist, Mr. Saleh has used his markets to support families in the community, mentor area youth, act as a role model and provide internship and employment opportunities to 11 – 12 EOC students, paying his personal success forward by showing others a way to succeed.