A-State Students Advance to Finals of Governor's Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition

JONESBORO – The finalists for the 2025 Arkansas Governor's Cup collegiate business plan competition were recently announced. Among those competing for first place are Arkansas State University (A-State) students Dylan Grant, Corbin Harrison and Hannah John.

Dylan Grant is a global supply chain management major from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Corbyn Harrison is an animal science major with a focus on the pre-veterinary program from East London, South Africa. Hannah Johns is an agribusiness major with a minor in animal science and a concentration in agricultural marketing and management from Harrisburg.

With the support of their advisor, Dr. Jacob Manlove, associate professor of agricultural economics, and meat lab manager Corey Readnour, the students are among 10 finalists from institutions across the state competing in the small business division of the competition.

The Governor's Cup encourages entrepreneurship among undergraduate and graduate students as they present products and carry out business plans.

The competition is divided into three groups: the small business division, open only to Arkansas undergraduate students; the undergraduate and graduate high-growth divisions, which welcome entries from institutions and neighboring states across the South; and a brief pitch division.

Their startup project, Taste of Africa, showcases a unique snack stick concept. According to Readnour, the product's name draws from Grant and Harrison's childhoods in Africa. "It stems from the unique blend of spices and African flair that we add to the product—having grown up in Africa, we picked up a few tips and tricks along the way," they said.

The dish is a byproduct of their expertise in creating shelf-stable snack sticks for the backpack program, which serves schoolchildren facing food insecurity in the community. "It comes in a variety of flavors, from spicy or smoky to cilantro and salt. We stumbled upon the recipe through trial runs we've conducted over the past few years at the university," Readnour said.

Another round of finalists for the 2025 Governor's Cup will be announced this month. The pitch competition will take place April 14–16 at the Arkansas Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. Following the oral presentation round, an awards luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m., announcing the winners.