Black Tech Week draws Keke Palmer as attendance and sponsors surge

Axios

14-07-2025

Keke Palmer, fresh off the ESSENCE Festival stage in New Orleans, headlines this year's Black Tech Week, a rapidly growing Midwest-based tech summit that blends entrepreneurship, cultural influence and genuine funding opportunities for underrepresented founders.
Why it matters: The three-day event, which kicks off Monday, has become a hub for dealmaking, upskilling and ecosystem building for Black and brown innovators in the Midwest and beyond.
Only 0.4% of U.S. venture funding went to Black‑founded startups in 2024— the lowest share in years. Black Tech Week is built to close that gap.
The Big Picture: Organizers expected fundraising and turnout to take a hit, but the opposite happened. Black Tech Week is growing — even as many major companies, such as Target, Google, Amazon, Meta, and T-Mobile, cut sponsorship funds or eliminate DEI roles due to political and shareholder pressure.
Organizers tapped into Ohio institutions, garnering strong local support from the state's Fortune 500 companies.
This year, Black Tech Week expanded its sponsors and added workshops focused on entrepreneurship, AI and access to capital.
What they're saying: Candice Matthews Brackeen, CEO and founder of Lightship Foundation, which acquired the event, says the event's growth is personal and political.
"While other companies pulled back after November, we've gotten bigger," Brackeen told Axios. "The city, the county, the state — they've all shown up to support this."
Zoom in: As an Ohio native, she's proud to host a conference that helps put the Midwest at the center of innovation and culture. Brackeen points out that Cincinnati is quickly becoming a core hub, thanks to Intel, Amazon, and massive public-private investment.
Ohio is often overlooked, she says, "but Ohio builds businesses, too."
Zoom out: When Brackeen first attended the Black Tech Week conference a decade ago, there were only a few hundred people in attendance. This year, more than 6,200 attendees are projected to attend.
Speakers for the conference include Fawn Weaver of Uncle Nearest, Calvin Butts Jr. of private equity firm East Chop Capital and a growing slate of Black founders with major exits.
Workshops cover AI, venture capital and the soft skills often missing from traditional tech training.
"We go from panels in the morning to workshops in the afternoon," Brackeen said. "This isn't just about inspiration — this is where the real work gets done."
The vibe is less buttoned-up expo, more real-talk block party for builders, dreamers and dealmakers, said entrepreneur Rodney Walton, who has gone from attendee to speaker.
"You don't have to be uptight. You can be who you are," Walton said. "It's authentic, and when people show up that way, business actually gets done."
Walton says the conference helped him connect with investors — and even the pastor who officiated his wedding.
The bottom line: Brackeen said they are looking for business leaders who are moving the culture every year.