BUFFALO, NY — 49 entrepreneurs who apprenticed last year have completed M&T Bank’s Minority and Women Entrepreneurship Program, delivered by the Entrepreneur Leadership Center at the University of Buffalo Graduate School of Business, ready to take their business to the next level. are arranged. .
Certificates of Completion were awarded at the two CEL program graduation ceremonies on June 15th at the UB Center for the Arts on the University’s North Campus.
Sponsored by M&T Bank, the program helps minority and women entrepreneurs take their companies to the next stage of development through twice-monthly business growth seminars, networking events, and one-on-one mentorship. Since its inception in 2004, 437 entrepreneurs have completed the program, including 2023 graduates.
With Open4’s generous sponsorship, this year’s class benefited from additional resources such as leadership coaching. Private consultation with industry experts. Panel discussion on marketing, strategic planning and business development resources. Additionally, the Buffalo Urban League worked with his CEL to provide classes with pre-launch workshops and additional networking opportunities.
Rashone Scott-Williams, Founder of Western New York Mobile OPS, was awarded the C. Taylor Kew Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, which recognizes graduates who embody the leadership and community service principles set forth by the late Kew. A staunch advocate of CEL, Kew founded and ran several companies and donated his time to several civic groups until his tragic death in a seaplane crash in 1992. Through his Overdose of WNY Mobile, Scott Williams has provided his NARCAN training to over 2,200 people and distributed 4,224 kits to local neighborhoods and organizations.
Start-up entrepreneurs completed peer-based, mentor-led programs to help grow, refocus, or better manage their businesses. During the 10-month intensive course, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the business while developing expertise in key areas such as strategic planning, financial management, employee relations and marketing.
The 2023 graduates and their companies are:
- Olajumoke Akinweil Oguntihin, Jolly J. Entertainers International
- Katherine Alexander, Full Circle Family Services
- Victoria Armstrong, Victoria Cleaning Service
- Christine Belus, An Extra Scoop LLC
- Daniel Bickel Signs Stroke Paintings
- Yakenna Burse, Herban Alternative
- Isaac Capo Carino, Luxasta
- Casey Chevat, Nature Skin Boutique
- Jonathan Clarke, Clean Kings
- Smita Chutke, Sumita’s Culinary Spices
- Charlize Davis, aesthetically stunning
- Natalya Dean, Innovative L&D LLC
- Lynette Elliott, E-scent-ials Body Care LLC
- Yolanda Fonville, Fanville LLC
- Terry Fulcher, Resource-Ful One Consulting
- Rita Gay, Merida Seasonal Fun
- Ian Gunter, Victorian Cleaning Services LLC
- Fragrance Harris Stanfield, Fragrance of Yah Records LLC
- Joyelle Hackett, Grow Services
- Rosemary Hansen, Silent Medical Aesthetics
- Maurice Howard, Howard Group
- Antoinette Johnson, E’scentual Pleasures LLC
- Reginald Johnson, Northern Lights Association LLC
- Lisa Kulka can go to college!
- Shauna Lee Macmillan, Bue’s Beads
- Lester McDaid “Everything’s Copestetic”
- Nicole McDade, ‘X’ Scape Spa
- Miyata Maddox, Twisted Infusions
- Shevon Mason, Jean Ador
- Civil Row Middlebrooks, Revivell Creates
- Kari Myers, The Mahogany
- Emere Nieves, Gardenness Inc.
- Anastasia Nikolaeva, Anastasias Artisan Bread LLC
- Dajanike Pei, Sweet Variations
- Shauna Ronan, Tap That Pourhouse LLC
- Elaine Salter, Rush House
- April Schneeberger, Collaborative Center for Social Innovation
- Lisa Skolnick, Lean Systems LLC
- Chanel Scott, Pink Frog Cleaning Service
- Rashone Scott-Williams, WNY Mobile Overdose Prevention Service
- Tiffany Searcy, Posh Pleasures Boutique
- Dean Seneca, Seneca Scientific Solutions+
- Angela Smith, Sheer Pampering Spa Studio
- Damatoria Stover, Body Valet
- Olga Stremiakova, Pacific Petstylist
- Darrin Strickland, Strickly Business Safety Solutions LLC
- Anisa Umgwanella, Wellcovery
- Camilla Whitfield, my grandmother’s garden
- Alana Winert “Introduction to Forest Therapy”
CEL is accepting applications for the 2024 MWEE program. To qualify, an entrepreneur must be a woman or member of a recognized minority group and own a business in the Buffalo-Niagara area. For more information on the curriculum or to apply, please contact the CEL office at 716-885-5715 or mgt-cel@buffalo.edu.
Founded in 1987, CEL provides participants with personalized and interactive education in entrepreneurship. More than 1,500 of her CEL alumni employ his more than 23,000 Western New Yorkers, whose businesses are worth more than $2.3 billion to the local economy. See management.buffalo.edu/cel for more information.
Celebrating its 100th anniversary, UB School of Management is known for its emphasis on real-world learning, community and impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students, and alumni. The school is also ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, and US News & World Report for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it offers its graduates. For more information about UB School of Management, visit management.buffalo.edu.
