South Side Innovation Center hosting holiday market on Saturday

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Clients and tenants of the South Side Innovation Center (SSIC) will offer their food and retail products during the incubator’s annual holiday market this weekend.

The event is set for Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the SSIC, which is located at 2610 S. Salina St. in downtown Syracuse.

The event is free and open to the public, the organization said in a news release.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for the Syracuse community to support local businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs who want to bring their unique products to the Central New York area,” El-Java Abdul-Qadir, director of the South Side Innovation Center, said in the release. “Clients will have the opportunity to provide samples of their food products, promote and sell their hand-made crafts, and showcase their name and brand. We are encouraging local business owners and those seeking fresh new product ideas to visit the SSIC and learn about our programs, clients and support our mission of local vitality.”

The entrepreneurship and emerging-enterprises program at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University created the SSIC.

Launched in April 2006, the SSIC is a 13,000-square-foot business incubator that “fosters the creation of new ventures and helps to make existing ones sustainable.”

The program is part of the larger South Side Entrepreneurial Connect Project (SSECP). The SSECP seeks to identify and support “sustainable” ventures, including infrastructure building, student and faculty “engagement” through consulting teams, a microcredit fund and training programs for entrepreneurs, and opportunities for minority purchasing.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com