Summary
May 2024 – On May 30-31, over two hundred rural economic developers, community leaders, and entrepreneurs descended upon Platteville, WI, a small town in southwestern Wisconsin, population of 11,840, for Wisconsin’s first Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities (CEC) Conference. Known as a conference “about small towns, for small towns,” the CEC conference offers programming, discussion, and networking for stakeholders in Wisconsin’s rural business development. Other Midwestern states such as Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Nebraska hold the CEC Conference on an annual basis as part of their rural economic development strategy.
Conference Schedule
Day 1
Track 1: Key Partners in Dynamic Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Track 2: Start-up Support and Resources 101
Track 1: Economic Development Case Study: Grant County
Track 3: Creating Communities of Belonging in Rural Wisconsin
Track 4: Financial Resources for Agri-preneurs
Track 1: Economic Development Strategy, Roles, & Tactics
Track 2: Business Start-Up Financing Resources
Track 3: Collective Entrepreneurship through Cooperatives
Track 4: Local Food Systems: What is the Economic Impact?
Day 2
Track 1: Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building in Practice with the REV Program
Track 2: Preserving Community Assets: Facilitating Business Succession Planning
Sponsoring Organizations
Business Owners of Color in Wisconsin: Representation, Profitability, and Growth
Business & Workforce Development: Clean Energy Funding Series
Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) – Minnesota Examples of An Essential Economic Development Activity
