News
UCEDC Awarded the DEI Trailblazer Award for Access to Capital
On November 3rd, UCEDC was honored with the DEI Trailblazer Award for Access to Capital, which recognizes New Jersey companies that are demonstrating tangible and measurable progress in the critical areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), by the African…
Client Spotlight: Alejandro Marin, Owner of il Gabbiano Restaurant
Like most restaurant owners Alejandro Marin of il Gabbiano Restaurant in Cranford struggled during the pandemic. After being a server in the restaurant for years, he had only become its owner two years before restaurants were forced to close their…
Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, an Interview with Hilda Mera, Co-Owner of S&A Auto Repair
Before Hispanic Heritage month comes to a close, we wanted to share this touching interview with UCEDC client and Virtual Incubator Program graduate Hilda Mera of S&A Auto Repair. In this interview, Hilda shares the origin story of S&A Auto…
Joshua Suggs, Owner of Delta’s in New Brunswick Shares His Entrepreneurial Advice
We caught up with Joshua Suggs, owner of Delta’s in New Brunswick when we were interviewing him for the 2021 Annual Highlights. At the time, we asked him what advice he could offer to entrepreneurs who were just starting out, his answers…
Client Spotlight: Entrepreneurship as a Second Chance Graduate, Ronelle Bush
We met Ronelle Bush earlier this year when he applied for UCEDC’s Entrepreneurship as a Second Chance (ESC) program. After his release in November of 2020, Ron had aspirations of owning his own towing company. Since then, he created an…
Meet UCEDC’s Latest Instagram Winner, Shakira Drones, Owner of Ikiralot Crafts
When we reached out to Shakira Drones of Ikiralot Krafts to let her know she’d won our latest Instagram contest, she was so excited that she decided to come to our offices to pick up her prize and meet…
Client Spotlight: Randall E. Toby Owner of Magnificent Men Mentoring Group
Randall E. Toby and his wife Claudia started the Magnificent Men Mentoring Group in 2014. Their program offers group mentoring sessions and self-empowerment workshops for high school, middle school, and college students. As Randall explains it, schools hire them to…
Client Spotlight: Florence Dennis, Owner of Flows Tasty Treats
Florence Dennis is on a mission with her crunchy snacks—and our Virtual Incubator Program is helping her business boom. Flows Tasty Treats launched in 2017 with a toasted corn and peanut blend Florence enjoyed growing up in Ghana. She debuted…
Client Spotlight: Jewel Domino, Owner of BelleJohns’ Soul Food
We met Jewel Domino when she was accepted into UCEDC’s Virtual Incubator Program(VIP), which offers selected businesses with ownership from underserved populations free mentorship, training, and access to capital to help meet the challenges of this moment. Before becoming an…
Celebrating Women’s History
At UCEDC, we have had the pleasure of working with so many talented and successful small businesswomen. In honor of Women’s History Month, we thought we’d share some of their stories with you. Click on the names below to read…