On Wednesday, September 16th, 2026, Syracuse University’s D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), with the support of Fiserv, brings the Military Entrepreneurship Forum to the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City.

Why Oklahoma City? Oklahoma supports approximately 247,000 veterans, and 3,000 of them are Oklahoma City-based entrepreneurs. Oklahoma City is also home to Tinker Air Force Base, one of the largest Air Logistics Complexes in the country. Fort Sill, a major Army training base for field artillery and air defense, is only 90 minutes away. Major bases like Tinker AFB and Fort Sill support a dense network of opportunities for defense suppliers, contractors, and more.

At IVMF’s Military Entrepreneurship Forum, that entire veteran entrepreneurship ecosystem is going to gather at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City. From 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM CDT, veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs can learn how to grow their businesses in the region from subject matter experts, as well as network with local resources and veteran service organizations.

What the Forum Does Differently

Most entrepreneurship events ask business owners to travel to a national gathering once a year, absorb broad national strategy, and work out how it applies locally on their own. The forum reverses that sequence. Rather than pulling entrepreneurs out of their region to learn frameworks built for everyone, the forum builds the entire day around the region itself.

Since 2022, alongside founding sponsor Fiserv, IVMF has held Military Entrepreneurship Forums in Atlanta, Chicago, Jacksonville, Washington DC, New Jersey, Austin, Milwaukee, Williamsburg, and New York City. Each has been free to attend, with a full day of content centered on education about local resources and forming local business relationships.

The Oklahoma City forum includes a keynote address, a panel of veteran entrepreneurship leaders, and breakout sessions on value creation, mentorship, tech/AI, contracting and certification, social entrepreneurship, and navigating local resources.

The day closes with a networking happy hour, a local business showcase, and a resource expo that puts regional providers in one place at one time.

There is no other event in the region this year that combines national-scale production and organization with such a local-centered focus.

Supporting Service-Disabled Entrepreneurs

Roughly 38.4% of Oklahoma veterans live with a service-connected disability, close to four in ten. For many of them, conventional employment is a poor fit. Fixed schedules and rigid workplaces can turn a full-time job into something that costs more than it returns. In that situation, self-employment is not a consolation prize. It is often the most viable economic path available.

That same disability rating is also a federal contracting credential. A small business at least 51% owned and controlled by a veteran with a service-connected disability can be certified as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, and at least 5% of all federal contracting dollars each year are set aside specifically for certified SDVOSBs.

Oklahoma City is a useful place to take advantage of that. Tinker Air Force Base is in the metro area, and Fort Sill, McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, Vance AFB, Altus AFB, and McConnell AFB are all within a few hours outside the city. Each base has contracting and procurement needs that savvy entrepreneurs can compete to fulfill, and government set-asides for veteran-owned businesses and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses provide opportunities for entrepreneurs interested in pursuing government contracting and procurement.

At the Military Entrepreneurship Forum, service-disabled veterans exploring entrepreneurship in the OKC region can learn how to certify their service-disabled veteran-owned business with the Small Business Administration, and how to leverage that certification for government contracting and procurement.

An Ongoing Conversation

The day after the forum, IVMF convenes regional stakeholders, funders, and ecosystem partners for a roundtable on the state of veteran entrepreneurship in Oklahoma. Three questions drive the Oklahoma City agenda. Which organizations serve military-connected entrepreneurs at each stage of growth? Where does the support network have gaps? And can veterans with service-connected disabilities effectively access capital?

That last question carries more weight here than it would almost anywhere else, for the same reason the forum is coming to Oklahoma City in the first place.

Those conversations feed IVMF’s national research on veteran entrepreneurship ecosystems. What regional leaders say in Oklahoma City in September will shape how the field understands local ecosystems everywhere.

Who Should Attend

The forum welcomes veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs at every stage, from people still testing an idea to owners running growth-stage companies. It also welcomes the other half of the ecosystem, meaning resource providers, lenders, corporate partners, and regional stakeholders.

No prior IVMF program participation is required. Many attendees are meeting IVMF for the first time.

Entrepreneurs outside the region are welcome, though the forum delivers the most value to companies operating in Oklahoma and bordering regions, because the network it builds is a local one.

The forum also presents an opportunity for businesses looking to expand into the Oklahoma City market. Companies can build the necessary local relationships at the forum to fully take advantage of all the region has to offer.

Don’t Miss This Unique Opportunity

Join us at the Military Entrepreneurship Forum in Oklahoma City on September 16th, 2026. This is the forum’s first appearance in the region since Austin in 2024. This free, full-day event is a great way to network with military-connected entrepreneurs and the local organizations that support them.

Everything you need to build your business in Oklahoma City is already here, and on September 16th, we’re bringing it all together under one roof. Don’t miss out! Register today.