MARKETPLACE Conference

Showcasing the diversity of Wisconsin’s business community

Now in its 36th year, MARKETPLACE, the Governor’s Conference on Minority Business Development, is the state’s premier gathering for minority, woman and veteran business owners. Each year, the conference brings together current and aspiring business owners with service providers as well as buyers from federal, state and local government agencies and the private sector. The conference includes educational workshops on business topics, as well as opportunities for networking with service providers and other business owners, and an organized schedule of buyer meetings. Each year the MARKETPLACE Governor’s Awards recognize outstanding new and established businesses in several categories, providing important recognition for leadership by Wisconsin’s minority, woman and veteran business owners.

Bringing business owners together to learn and connect

Attendance at MARKETPLACE continues to grow each year, with more than 800 people attending in 2016. The last three years, the event has included a half-day Small Business Academy focusing on knowledge and insights related to starting a new business and helping it survive and grow. Since it was added to the annual program, the Small Business Academy segment has been well received and widely attended. And the event as a whole “is constantly growing—both in terms of size and in terms of impact,” Governor Scott Walker noted at the 2015 conference.

(November 2017)