INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis is set to host it’s 2nd annual Rally Innovation Conference, where InnoPower‘s Minority Business Week will give essential tools and insights for success.

InnoPower’s 5th annual Minority Business Week is joining the larger Rally Innovation Conference, which will bring together global leaders in tech, AI, and investing.

InnoPower is known for it’s commitment to uplift underrepresent communities. The organization hopes the conference will teach small business owners how to navigate economic game at the regional level, and how they can use it to advance their business.

“The really exciting part is that in the next 10 years in the state of Indiana around the innovation economy is going to be unbelievable,” said WISH-TV contributor Emil Ekiyor, founder of InnoPower. “So, how do we make sure Black professionals and entrepreneurs, and business owners are plugged into the innovation economy?”

Minority business week will kick off with a celebration of 100 small business owners. InnoPower has supported the owners and also given access to co-working space for the past year.

“We’re going to celebrate them, and we’re bringing in a whole new 100 to celebrate next with us,” Ekiyor said.

Ekiyor says it’s a crucial event for small business owners and entrepreneurs to get exposure at conferences like rally to network, and learn about accessing and deploying capital.

“The number one thing is connections, relationships, meeting people, getting people to hear your story, and understanding you’re not the only one going through things, other people are going through things as well,” Ekiyor said.

Christopher Day, CEO of Elevate Ventures and the founder of Rally, says the conference has a wealth of opportunities, such as one-on-one meetings, a pitch competition, and several sessions with inspiring speakers.

“If you’re a first-time founder, it’s okay to be nervous,” Day said. “It’s okay to be a little bit of an introvert. Just own it.”

This year’s Rally Innovation Conference is set to be a catalyst for change, and minority business week will ensure that minority entrepreneurs are part of that transformation.

“It’s a path that’s the fraught with challenges,” Day said. “The more we can bring everyone together to brainstorm, to collaborate and be open about our failures, which is maybe more important than our successes, that’s what I think is critical.”

Ekiyor says he wants it to be easy for minority businesses to have a seat at the table. Business owners can get an 80% ticket discount, and college students can get a 95% discount.

“We don’t want cost to be a barrier for you,” Ekiyor said. “If you cannot for whatever reason afford to pay the entry fee, we want to support you to be in that space, because we want to hear from you afterwards. Was it beneficial to you?”