Vice President Jack Chimbetete shares about the organization’s third African Business Fair When Jack Chimbetete first came to Iowa in 2018 as a participant in the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, the then-newly formed nonprofit One Voice DSM welcomed him and the other fellows with a ceremony and a reminder of home. “Because we had been […]

Several events this spring will focus on helping startups learn what they need to raise capital for their business. The Greater Des Moines Partnership is holding the one-day Raising Capital for Startups event on April 4, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is designed to help startup founders learn about what options they have when looking […]

The Iowa Board of Regents approved a new undergraduate major in entrepreneurship at the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business during its Feb. 28 meeting. The major will be offered starting in the fall 2024 semester. The program will be interdisciplinary and offer tracks in entrepreneurial finance, technology entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial leadership and new ventures. […]

Gravitate Coworking founder Geoff Wood reflects on a decade in business Many in Des Moines and Iowa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem will know of Gravitate Coworking and its founder Geoff Wood. But to understand how it started 10 years ago requires stepping back to some key developments in the early days of Des Moines’ startup community. Although short-lived, StartupCity […]

Ag Startup Engine, an Ames-based program that offers seed investment and investor connections to early-stage agriculture startups, announced Feb. 21 it has added Indianapolis, Ind.-based Croft to its portfolio companies. According to a news release, Croft has developed an online Agribusiness Workforce Platform to help address challenges around seasonal labor, worker productivity and farm operations optimization. Croft founders Scott […]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development agency is investing $1,213,603 in 13 grants and $43,957,700 in five loans to projects in Iowa that promote rural small businesses, provide technical assistance and support public works infrastructure. Greene County Development Corp. received a $95,703 Rural Business Development Grant to provide technical assistance to emerging businesses in Greene […]

One Voice Des Moines is hosting its annual African Business Fair on Saturday, Feb. 24, to help small businesses in the African diaspora communities network and connect with larger organizations and government programs. One Voice Des Moines is an African-founded nonprofit focused on social impact, youth development, economic progress and collaborative engagement among individuals and communities of […]

EO Iowa, a branch of the national nonprofit Entrepreneurs’ Organization, hosted its fourth annual Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA), a statewide competition where student entrepreneurs pitch business ideas to a panel of judges. The competition has regional, national and international levels that winners of each round advance to. Iowa State University student Cam Reiman, founder of Spock’s Sanctuary, […]