diff --git a/core/src/main/resources/reference.conf b/core/src/main/resources/reference.conf
index 4c62513..9f43178 100644
--- a/core/src/main/resources/reference.conf
+++ b/core/src/main/resources/reference.conf
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ akka.persistence.dynamodb {
     #   - environment variable - `AWS_REGION`
     #   - credentials and config files at the default locations (~/.aws/credentials, ~/.aws/config)
     #   - if running in EC2, check the EC2 metadata service
-    region = null
+    region = ""
 
     # Configuration for testing with DynamoDB local.
     # When enabled, will automatically set the endpoint, an arbitrary region, and dummy credentials.