CINCINNATI — Downtown Cincinnati is expected to bustle with new business ventures as Black Tech Week returns for its third year in the Queen City.
This year's conference, with an expected attendance of about 5,000, sold out and was moved from Music Hall to the Aronoff Center.
The conference provides a platform for Black entrepreneurs to showcase their talents and connect with others in the tech sector.
This also highlights the importance of inclusion in the tech sector.
Candace Matthews Brackin, founder of the Lightship Foundation, said the overall goal is economic growth for Cincinnati.
“It's an opportunity to increase revenue for the business, it's an opportunity to seek investment in the business and it's really about having a network of people that can help you grow and expand,” Bracken said.
“People often find a co-founder or someone to help them develop their technology. You never know what kind of collisions might happen during Black Tech Week.”
This year's keynote speakers include film director Ava DuVernay, MoviePass founder Stacey Spikes and former 76ers player Danny Green.
“This is an opportunity to talk to venture capitalists. We'll have over 150 venture capitalists coming together and doing office hours with founders,” Bracken said.
She said Black Tech Week is all about building businesses.
“We have an opportunity to talk to several companies. We have 25 companies doing business development meetings.”
The meeting began on Tuesday and will continue through Thursday.
Tickets for the official conference are sold out, but spaces remain available for the community events. Check out the full schedule here.
