Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship Outreach

The Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship Outreach believes that together we can create, grow, and succeed. 

The Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship Outreach serves to create a strong relationship between Drake students and community entrepreneurs in Greater Des Moines as well as offering many benefits for young adult Entrepreneurs within the community to grow their businesses. 

Programs

The Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship Outreach supports a number of programs available to both Drake students and community members.

• The application period for the 2023 Pappajohn Iowa Entrepreneurial Venture Competition will open in early 2023. Find more details about the competition here.
• The 2023 Pappajohn Student Entrepreneurial Venture Competition application period is open! Find more information about the competition here.
• The Drake Pappajohn center is also home to the business clinic, which includes the Drake Business Accelerator and our venture mentoring services, that help support community entrepreneurs. You can find more information about the clinic here.

About Pappajohn

John Pappajohn and his wife, Mary, provided a generous gift to create the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship Outreach at Drake in 1998. John Pappajohn is known worldwide as an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He started his first business, an insurance agency, in 1952. He has been involved in more than 100 startups and more than 50 initial public offerings, and has served as a director in 40+ public companies.

Read about John Pappajohn's contributions to entrepreneurship in Iowa here

For more information about how we can help, contact the Entrepreneurship Centers at jpec@drake.edu.