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The Institute For Entrepreneurial Leadership (IFEL) is hosting the 3rd Annual Women Of Color Connecting Summit & Celebration (WOCCON 2021), March 11-25, 2021.
Women Of Color Connecting (WOCCON) is an initiative that facilitates relationships between allies, champions, and investors who value inclusion and Women of Color entrepreneurs who want to get on a path to building wealth through an exit. The vision for this initiative is to create 1 billion in new wealth within 10 years through the success of Women of Color entrepreneurs.
WOCCON 2021 will feature insights from Women of Color entrepreneurs, discussions about allyship, thematically organized roundtable discussions, relationship-building sessions, and targeted introduction and networking opportunities.
As an added benefit this year, attendees will be able to connect with other attendees, visit the virtual exhibitor booth, and more through a mobile app. WOCCON 2021 attendees will include Women of Color entrepreneurs with demonstrated traction and scalable potential; champions and allies who value inclusion and have the power to open doors; investors interested in leveraging diversity to achieve the highest returns; business professionals willing to contribute expertise to Women of Color entrepreneurs; and venture capital/private equity investors who want to build an inclusive network.
According to IFEL CEO Jill Johnson, “Bringing together Women of Color entrepreneurs and the allies, champions, and investors who want to support them is the driving force behind the WOCCON 2021. We are coalescing an amazing group of people who will be acting with intentionality to open doors for Women of Color entrepreneurs. The message to these amazing entrepreneurs and founders is that we are here for you.” noted Johnson.
WOCCON 2021 sponsors include SAP, a Champion Sponsor; Peapack-Gladstone Bank; Valley Bank and Nia.
Summit Overview
Target Audience:
● Women of Color entrepreneurs with revenues of $100K+ or demonstrated traction.
● Business professionals interested in contributing expertise to Women of Color entrepreneurs
● Angel investors interested in opportunities presented by Women of Color-led companies.
● Champions and allies who are willing to open doors for Women of Color entrepreneurs
● Venture capital and private equity investors who want to build a more inclusive network.
Sessions:
● March 11 – In a featured presentation, “The Rocky Road to Success”, you’ll hear from Women of Color Entrepreneurs about their journey, Allies will share their perspective on developing a change agent mindset, and you’ll have an opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue through small roundtable discussions.
● March 18 – You’ll continue authentic relationship building with Champion & Ally Working Group sessions and have an opportunity to engage with amazing Women of Color entrepreneurs who are building toward an exit.
● March 25 – We focus the conversation specifically on the access to capital problem and how we plan to solve it for our selected group of WOCCON entrepreneurs. The day will culminate the event with our WOCCOON Gala Celebration featuring a virtual cocktail reception and awards presentation!
What’s In It for You:
Through the WOCCON 2021Summit & Celebration, you have a unique opportunity to help open doors for Women of Color entrepreneurs as you engage with them in a way that is deep and authentic. In the process, you build bridges to communities of diverse entrepreneurs and business professionals.
As a WOCCON 2021 supporter, you gain:
● Access to a “hard-to-find” audience of diverse entrepreneurs and business professionals
● Engagement with a brand loyal audience with significant spending power
● Association with a ground-breaking diversity and inclusion initiative that is having an impact
● Recognition for being a socially conscious brand that walks the walk WOCCON 2021 is the only event of its kind aligning your brand, your message, and your services with one of the fastest-growing segments of entrepreneurship in a way that promotes systemic change, economic development, and social impact.
WOCCON 2021 is an opportunity to move from talking about change to being the change.
Comments from past attendees
“There was a good mix of people in the room. Not only were there so many connections to be made, but the quality, energy, and determination of everyone in the room propelled me to make the connections.”
“An environment that encouraged open conversation about difficult issues and connecting deeply with each other!”
“It was great for connecting with angel investors, many of whom I had met before, but needed to reconnect.”
“The substance of this program was really good and I was impressed with how it was organized…it was the best presentation that I have attended in a while.”
Registration/Ticket Sales: WOCCON2021
For sponsorship information, visit https://www.woccon.org/sponsorship.
Founded in 2002, the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership (IFEL) is an independent, not‐for‐profit organization that supports economic development through entrepreneurship. We are experts in creating and implementing small business programming in support of larger economic development objectives. Our mission is to eradicate the systemic barriers that prevent entrepreneurs of color from being able to access the knowledge, networks, and capital required for business success. Visit at https://www.weareifel.org
