One of the country’s premier conferences for tech professionals and founders of color will mark its return to the Queen City this summer, and organizers hope to more than double last year’s attendance in the process.
Black Tech Week, an event that aims to celebrate and promote Black entrepreneurship, will return to Cincinnati and Music Hall July 18-20. Organizers announced the dates this week as ticket sales launched Thursday.
Black Tech Week 2022, held in Cincinnati for the first time since it was acquired last March by local economic development organization Lightship Foundation, resulted in an estimated $7.8 million economic impact, the nonprofit said. The event was headlined by tennis star and investor Serena Williams and drew nearly 1,500 startup founders, investors and creatives over three days.
The Lightship team said it plans for a “significant” increase in attendance this year.
The organization expects more than 3,000 attendees and 100-plus speakers with over 50 workshops, live performances and more.
"Last year's Black Tech Week was an extraordinary moment for Cincinnati," Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval said in a release. "This kind of programming is exactly what our city needs…and I couldn't be more thrilled to welcome Black Tech Week back."
Black Tech Week was founded in 2015 in Miami. The event hosts curated social events and startup growth-focused programming, including sessions led by professionals specializing in small-business law, marketing, Web3, board selection and more.
"Black Tech Week is a celebration of the Black excellence we see every day," Candice Matthews Brackeen, founder and CEO of Lightship Foundation, said in the release. "Lightship works hard to make Black Tech Week a space and time for our community to connect, recharge and reset."
Black Tech Week will again lead into the Cincinnati Music Festival, which made its own media splash with headliners Snoop Dogg and Al Green this week. The Music Festival, scheduled for July 20-22, attracts more than 90,000 people from around the country.
