Thousands of Southern Nevada entrepreneurs packed the Las Vegas Convention Center South Hall on Thursday, September 3, 2026, for the 14th Annual Committed To Our Business Community Expo, an event organizers say drew a record turnout of local business owners looking for funding, mentors, and contracts. The one-day expo connected local entrepreneurs with more than 90 businesses, agencies, and mentors, bringing together nonprofits, banks, government programs, consultants, and networking groups under one roof.
The expo was organized in conjunction with Harry Reid International Airport and promoted by the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce, according to Tech.Vegas. As FOX5 Vegas reported, local entrepreneurs came seeking connections, funding, and a roadmap to grow their companies, with expo participants offering help with loans, grants, marketing, AI tools, and other small-business needs. Jessica Jordan told the station that startup businesses need guidance and assistance, and that the expo provides access to people who can help businesses grow.
Younger Founders Find A Foothold
Among the groups highlighted at the event was ACE NextGen Las Vegas, an AAPI entrepreneur organization whose leaders said events like the expo are critical for younger entrepreneurs trying to get a foothold in business. Calvin To said meeting more people and building more connections helps ACE NextGen Las Vegas, its members, the community, and Las Vegas overall, according to the same FOX5 Vegas report. Expo events like this one help younger entrepreneurs avoid navigating startup life alone, giving them face-to-face access to mentors, chambers of commerce, and other local groups.
ACE NextGen's presence in Las Vegas has deep roots: the organization traces its national expansion back to a 2016 meeting of young founders convened in the city by marketing leader Bill Imada and National ACE, according to ACE NextGen. This year, the group expanded its founder programming to include structured AI accelerator courses in partnership with Verizon Business, layered on top of its existing 12-month founder mentorship cohorts.
Public Agencies Use Expo For Procurement Push
The expo doubled as a vendor opportunity fair for Southern Nevada public agencies. The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada was among the government bodies that used the September 3 event to meet local procurement diversity goals and connect small business contractors with public contracts, according to a listing on DemandStar. That kind of direct access to public-sector purchasing managers has become a defining draw of the annual gathering.
The demand on display at the expo reflects a broader entrepreneurial surge across Nevada. A UNLV Center for Business and Economic Research study updated in June 2026 found that 40% of all businesses operating in the state were established after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a pace UNLV says has led national post-pandemic small business creation trends. Nevada recorded 64,781 business applications in 2025, a 52.8% increase over pre-pandemic 2019 levels, with Clark County driving the state's growth by generating 51,725 of those filings, per state small business statistics.
Confidence, AI Adoption, And Access To Capital
Business owners across Nevada are also feeling more optimistic than they have in years. A January 2026 survey of Nevada business owners conducted by Nevada State Bank and Applied Analysis showed a five-year high in economic confidence, with 51.8% reporting active use of AI tools in their operations, a trend that helps explain why AI guidance was in high demand among expo attendees. Small businesses represent 99.3% of all businesses in Nevada and employ 45% of the state's total private workforce, according to a May 2026 report published by Nevada Policy citing state advocacy data.
Access to capital remains central to that ecosystem. SBA 7(a) and 504 loan approvals in Nevada reached $523.1 million across 982 loans during Fiscal Year 2025, with accommodation, food services, and healthcare leading overall capital distribution, according to the same small business statistics compilation. Meanwhile, the Nevada Small Business Development Center marked its 40th anniversary of operation in 2025, having expanded its free advising network across UNLV and UNR to assist tens of thousands of local startups over four decades.
Organizers Already Planning For Next Year
Expo organizers called small businesses the heart of the community, and said they will use this year's momentum to make next year's expo even bigger. Per organizers, next year's CTOBC Expo will offer more local owners the connections they need to succeed, building on a 14-year track record of pairing Southern Nevada founders with the mentors, lenders, and agencies that keep the region's small business boom moving forward.
