Inaugural vendor fair to spotlight UB alumni startups

By Kevin Manne

BUFFALO, N.Y. —  Graduates of the University at Buffalo School of Management’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership will showcase their products and services at the inaugural CEL Alumni Vendor Fair, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Feb. 9 at the UB Educational Opportunity Center, 555 Ellicott St.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will feature businesses of 20 alumni from the CEL’s M&T Bank Minority and Women Emerging Entrepreneurs and Reimagine Entrepreneurship programs. 

“This is a great opportunity to support local businesses as you shop and enjoy free food and giveaways,” says Susan Steffan, CEL executive director. “We are grateful for NYSTAR’s support as we strive to promote economic development in our region and help business owners achieve their dreams.”

As a Reimagine Workforce Center, the CEL offers entrepreneurship boot camps and master courses to hundreds of unemployed, laid-off and underemployed workers in Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Olean, Jamestown and Dunkirk, as well as virtually, through a two-year grant of nearly $342,000 from Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR).

Sponsored by M&T Bank, the MWEE program helps minority and women entrepreneurs take their companies to the next stage of development with business development seminars twice a month, networking events and one-on-one mentoring. 

Established in 1987, the CEL provides participants with individualized and interactive education in entrepreneurship. More than 1,500 CEL alumni employ more than 23,000 Western New Yorkers, and their businesses are worth more than $2.3 billion to the local economy. For more information, visit management.buffalo.edu/cel.