ABOUT US | The Exchange Buffalo

Our Start

In 2016, Mayor Byron Brown and the city of Buffalo established the Beverly Gray Business Exchange Center, Inc., to support black businesses and entrepreneurs. He saw the need to create a hub of resources that assisted in the growth of excellent companies throughout Buffalo. Mayor Brown dedicated this resource hub after the late Beverly A. Gray, a community advocate, City Council Member, and entrepreneur. She envisioned Buffalo’s Eastside as a hub for economic growth.

As a council member, she established an open-door policy to be the most accessible member in local government. With her natural ability to plan, develop and implement projects, she took on initiatives to revitalize the East Side of Buffalo. Beverly was a member of many social, civil, and political groups including the NAACP, Buffalo Urban League, Greater East Side Business Association, Black Chamber of Commerce, and Women for Human Rights and Dignity. It’s her vision and commitment to the people of Buffalo that guides our mission today.

Our Mission & Vision

The Exchange at Beverly Gray, a NYS recognized 501(c)3 organization, is the premier Entrepreneur Service Organization specifically serving the BIPOC and underrepresented entrepreneurial community in Buffalo, NY.

Located on the East side of Buffalo, we aim to be a conduit for business development and growth for new and existing entrepreneurs. Through our 4 Pillars Approach, we help our members solve critical problems on their entrepreneurial and business journeys. With partnership from the University at Buffalo, we are the first Incubator in WNY specifically serving BIPOC entrepreneurs and business owners.

The Exchange at Beverly Gray was established by Mayor Byron Brown in honor of Beverly A. Gray, a dedicated community advocate, Council Member, and entrepreneur with a vision of innovation and economic growth for Buffalo’s Eastside. Today, standing on that foundation, along with continued support from our funders, our goal is to empower and equip BIPOC entrepreneurs throughout the city of Buffalo with the necessary tools needed to build sustainable, high-growth businesses that not only positively impact Buffalo’s east side but have a state and nationwide impact as well.

We believe that through equity, inclusion, and innovation, we can increase the success rate of BIPOC entrepreneurs from high potential to high growth. We see entrepreneurship as the pathway to attaining generational wealth while building the local community.