A Cincinnati-based foundation is moving one of the nation’s premier conferences for founders of color and tech professionals to the Queen City this summer. It marks a high-profile win for both the organization and city.
Lightship Foundation, a Cincinnati economic development organization, has acquired Black Tech Week, a minority tech ecosystem-building festival, officials announced Monday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Lightship Foundation founder and CEO Candice Matthews Brackeen said the acquisition means Black Tech Week’s annual conference, scheduled this year for July 18-23, will be held in Cincinnati — moving from its previous home base in Miami, Fla.
Black Tech Week, founded in 2015, is aimed at founders of color, tech professionals and enthusiasts, funders, allies and all members of the global Black tech community. The conference will feature more than 50 speakers and annually attracts thousands of attendees.
"Black Tech Week is a culturally historic event that innovators of color have converged upon for the last seven years to expand their minds, their networks and their access to capital," Matthews Brackeen said in a release. "We get to take the legacy of Black Tech Week and continue bringing this work to Black techies across the country."
Felecia Hatcher and husband Derick Pearson founded Black Tech Week to highlight black entrepreneurs. Matthews Brackeen’s husband Brian Brackeen was among the conference’s inaugural speakers.
Lightship Foundation said in the release it plans to leverage local corporate partners and community networks including the Cincinnati Innovation District, an ecosystem anchored by University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, to bring business leaders and creatives to town. Lightship Foundation announced last year it will establish its headquarters in the CID at “The Beacon,” located at 121 E. McMillan. The foundation’s office is expected to open in the third quarter of 2022.
Black Tech Week is scheduled to coincide with the Cincinnati Music Festival, July 21-23. The music festival, one of the oldest and largest in the country, hosts more than 70,000 visitors and generates $107 million in economic impact.
This story will be updated.
