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Cedar Valley continues to have a strong soul food catering business thanks to Markethia Moore, the Papajohn Student Entrepreneurial Venture Competition and the Black Business Entrepreneur Accelerator (BBEA).
Moore, owner of Momma ‘Nem Soul Food & Catering, placed first and won a $5,000 prize for her business.
“This prize money will help my business purchase our first food truck,” Moore said. “From this experience, I learned how to effectively and efficiently budget, make business financial projections, and most importantly, scale my business for growth. I am forever indebted to UNI and John Papajohn for this great opportunity to grow my business!”
The business caters for a variety of events including birthdays, weddings, parties and corporate events.
Moore graduated from BBEA, which is a partnership between the 24/7 Black Leadership Advancement Consortium and the John Papajohn Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Northern Iowa.
Entrepreneurs from colleges across Iowa pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges for the competition. A total of 17 people participated in the competition. They came from UNI, University of Iowa, Drake University, Iowa State University and North Iowa Area Community College.
“This annual competition provides an excellent opportunity for students presenting their business ideas to gain insight and valuable feedback from the judges,” said Laurie Watje, director of UNI JPEC.
The event was commemorated on the same day with a memorial service for Papajohn. Papajohn, a prominent Iowa entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist, died in April at the age of 94. Throughout his life, he devoted himself to higher education in Iowa.
Two UNI finalists received $500 awards and two regional finalists received $200 from UNI.
Finalists:
- Nathan Crooker, founder of Brain Freezer
- Davan Crooker, founder of DC Outdoor Services
Regional:
- Skyler Ramsey, Founder of Teal Phoenix, LLC
- Fatima Rodriquez, founder of Saffron and Ivy
Nicole Haytrek
5/23/23
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