CINCINNATI — Black Tech Week is back and bigger than ever.
It's a safe space for artists, entrepreneurs, engineers and storytellers to collaborate and feel empowered.
"We help each other grow in our careers if we work in tech or in our businesses if we own our own tech firms," said Candice Matthews Brackeen, chief executive officer and founder of Lightship Foundation.
The conference will be Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the Aronoff Center, and anyone is welcome to attend.
WATCH: Brackeen said this will be the biggest Black Tech Week in the last 11 years
There will be workshops every afternoon and powerful speakers to help people feel inspired.
"It's Keke Palmer coming to talk about her career as she started kind of as a child actress to today being a multimedia mogul," Brackeen said.
The impact of the conference brings thousands of tourists to the city each year.
In a statement Julie Calvert, president and CEO at Visit Cincy, said:
"Black tech week is a premier event that highlights innovation and celebrates diversity within the Black tech community. It reinforces Cincinnati's reputation as a welcoming, inclusive city for talent, startups, and thought leaders from across the country. We value that it calls Cincinnati home."
While it's a great time to see friends, it's an opportunity for entrepreneurs to network on a different level.
"Seeing people's faces I actually see a lot of tears when people come in sometimes it's overwhelming to find your tribe so I love to see that spark go off for certain people," Brackeen said.
She said the purpose is to leave the conference feeling refueled and recharged to do great work.
"Being inspired by someone else's success is enough to keep some people going and that's the goal," Brackeen said.
