Athene Black & Brown Business Summit Pitch Competition April 2025

Grant Overview

Donor: West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce

About: The Athene Black & Brown Business Summit Pitch Competition is an exciting opportunity for minority-owned businesses to showcase their innovative ideas and win substantial financial rewards. This competition, brought to you by the West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Bank of America, aims to empower and support BIPOC entrepreneurs by providing a platform to pitch their businesses, network with industry experts, and gain valuable exposure.
All applicants are invited to attend the summit on April 16-17, 2025, at the Sheraton Hotel in West Des Moines, Iowa. Seven top applicants will be selected to present their pitches on April 16th, with an additional business chosen at random to pitch as well. The celebration of pitch winners will occur on April 17th at 4:00 pm.

To qualify, applicants must attend the full day of experiences and networking on April 16th from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. This event is designed to elevate ethnic minorities and bring BIPOC businesses together, fostering connection-building, programming, promotion, training, and resource provision to help businesses grow and prosper.
Over the past two years, winners have shared a monetary pot of $152,000, with every participant taking home a monetary prize. The competition is part of a broader effort to position Iowa as the best place in the nation to start and lead a minority business.

Focus: Business pitch, minority entrepreneurship, networking, resource provision, community building, business workshops

Region: USA

Eligibility:
-Businesses must be 51% minority-owned
-Must be an established small business with more than 2 years in operation, under 50 employees, and under $2.5M annual revenue
-For-profit businesses only; non-profits are not eligible
-Businesses that received funds from the summit in the past three years are not eligible to apply in 2025, unless they were a ‘surprise fishbowl winner’ from a previous year
-Open to businesses from any location, not restricted to West Des Moines

Benefits:
-All applicants invited to attend the Athene Black & Brown Business Summit
-Top applicants selected to pitch their businesses on April 16th
-Chance to win thousands of dollars in prizes
-Networking opportunities and valuable exposure
-Monetary prizes for all participants

Terms:
-Athene Black & Brown Business Summit: An annual event created by national stakeholders to elevate ethnic minorities and support BIPOC businesses through connection building, programming, promotion, training, and resource provision .
-Pitch Competition: A contest where entrepreneurs present their business ideas to a panel of judges with the goal of winning funding and other support .
-Minority-Owned Businesses: Businesses where at least 51% of the ownership is held by individuals from minority groups .
-BIPOC: An acronym standing for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, used to emphasize the inclusion of various minority groups .