Monday, May 4th, 9:00am – 5:00pm

This Hybrid certification training is a pre-conference activity taking place on May 4-5th – with 1.5 day in person training in Houston, TX, as well as 6 hours virtual coaching – that will cover a review of the fundamentals of Trauma-Informed Care, how to build helpful, healing and respectful relationships, how to adopt trauma-informed strategies and more.

Monday, May 4th, 12:00pm – 5:00pm

AEO is proud to host the SBA’s Micro-loan Training Program. This two day event is open to all SBA microlenders and will provide training, best practices, and strategies for managing growth and creating impact.

Tuesday, May 4th, 8:00am – 12:00pm

This Hybrid certification training is a pre-conference activity taking place on May 4-5th – with 1.5 day in person training in Houston, TX, as well as 6 hours virtual coaching – that will cover a review of the fundamentals of Trauma-Informed Care, how to build helpful, healing and respectful relationships, how to adopt trauma-informed strategies and more.

Tuesday, May 5th, 9:00am – 2:00pm

AEO is proud to host the SBA’s Micro-loan Training Program. This two day event is open to all SBA microlenders and will provide training, best practices, and strategies for managing growth and creating impact.

Tuesday, May 5th, 3:00pm – 5:30pm

The shock of a sudden calamity and the stress of an ongoing challenge can be difficult to navigate for any business, even large ones with long track records. Yet, microbusinesses are finding ways to thrive in the midst of social, economic, and ecological environments that are rapidly changing and sometimes turbulent. Their success is the lifeblood of neighborhoods and communities across the country, so how can we support their long-term growth and sustainability? Join us as we raise questions around industry stagnation, explore how cities are supporting entrepreneurship, and gain insight on how microbusinesses are weathering stresses and shocks through real-world case studies of entrepreneurial resilience.

Tuesday, May 5th, 7:00pm – 9:00pm

A livestreamed town hall event focused on the multiple dimensions of economic livelihood after incarceration. Panelists for this event will represent a growing movement that brings social justice activists and entrepreneurship advocates together to posit, shape, and support a vision of business ownership for re-entry solutions and programs. Panelists will engage with both the live and livestreamed audience that will include returning citizens, entrepreneurs with records, re-entry entrepreneurship program operators, small businesses lenders, activists, funders, and many others.

Wednesday, May 6th, 8:00am – 9:00am 

At a time of widening inequality and an accelerating climate crisis, we need new standards, new tools, new norms, and much more to achieve a better future for all. A more inclusive economy with more broadly shared prosperity will demand a brand new system. What will it take to redesign a bold new system that works for all entrepreneurs, particularly entrepreneurs of color?  

Wednesday, May 6th, 5:00pm – 6:45pm

Women’s entrepreneurship has been on the rise in the United States for the last two decades. From 1997 to 2017, The number of women-owned businesses grew by 114%. Despite the fact that the number of businesses owned by women are on the rise, women business owners still face an uphill battle. The World Economic Forum projects that, at the current rate of progress, it will take 208 years to reach gender equality in the U.S. How do we collectively accelerate the momentum that women have started by opening their own businesses in order to change that reality? Join us in this fireside chat as we discuss women’s economic equality through entrepreneurship.

Thursday, May 7th, 8:00am – 12:00pm 

If you ever heard of the color theory, you know that color is more than what meets the eye. The same can be said about philanthropy. This robust segment will explore how philanthropy and social investment is becoming more diverse, more entrepreneurial, more collaborative—and as a result—shifting the playing field for entrepreneurs and their employees. Ten leaders in philanthropy, social investment, and the corporate sector will take the final Main Stage to discuss the instruments and institutions being deployed to mobilize private resources in support of economic, social, and environmental objectives. These experts will share how decisions around grant funding, corporate partnership, and investment capital can shape the economic future of microbusiness, while examining how that impact is felt in communities of color.