Over 1,000 people packed the Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel for Blaxpo, the second annual job and multi-touchpoint conference held on Oct. 13 and 14.

Designed to connect Black talent to employers and entrepreneurs in the Canadian job market, the career expo provided a platform for companies and businesses to network with a diverse audience.

This year’s event offered many different activations, such as speed networking sessions, networking lounges, workshops, a live podcast (BTS with Dr. Dori Tunstall: Transformative Mindset), professional headshots, and mental health sessions to give professionals, entrepreneurs, and students a holistic approach to advancing their personal and professional lives. Companies like Futurpreneur, RBC, DMZ, Ernst & Young, CN, KPMG, Bell, Colliers, and others were on-site.

“I want to be at the level where I can kind of share that knowledge and that know-how with other Black creatives and work with them to level up to even higher tiers,” Antoine told Black Dollar Magazine about creating Blaxpo.

On Friday, the event started at 6 p.m. and featured hors d'oeuvres, cocktails by Appleton, music, networking and a keynote speech by renowned Canadian R&B artist Jully Black.

Then, on Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m., the career expo began. There were several speakers, including Brittany Charlton, the CEO of Ohh! Foods. Recognized for her outstanding achievements, she earned a coveted spot on Forbes’ prestigious “30 Under 30” list.

“It was super important for me to be here just to be around the community and build my network up with other founders and people in the space doing exactly what I’m doing. I want to expand my networking as well,” Charlton said.

Since launching the company, Charlton said the company has grown with Walmart Canada. “We recently launched with our edible cookie dough and our frosting, and in the next week, we’ll be launching our snacking bites, which are brownie batter and banana bread. In two weeks, you can catch us at Costco Canada,” she added.

Black Dollar Magazine also caught up with Mona-Lisa Prosper, director of the Black Entrepreneur Startup Program with Futurpreneur. Prosper and her team supported Blaxpo founder Nicole Antoine through the accelerator program and were on hand for year two.

“Nicole is a force. It’s amazing the people she’s able to bring together, and it was important for Futurpreneur to come out and support again and attract more entrepreneurs. We like to be in spaces where we are allowed to take up space and where our people are present. We’re happy to see how the event has grown,” Prosper said.