We have Selected a Recipient for our Entrepreneur Endorsement Scholarship!
Congratulations to Bishal Kafle of Colorado State University!
At Viking Mergers & Acquisitions, we believe in the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and in an effort to cultivate the next generation of small business owners, our firm created the Entrepreneur Endorsement Scholarship. Founded in August 2015, the goal of the Entrepreneur Endorsement Scholarship is to help young entrepreneurs offset the costs of education while also promoting a robust community of passionate, innovative millennial entrepreneurs.
The selection process has been incredibly tough. It was an absolute pleasure reviewing applications and seeing what the future of small business looks like for America. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our applicants for taking the time to apply and also applaud you on your hard work, creativity and drive.
After carefully considering dozens of impressive applicants, we are excited to announce the official winner of the fall 2016 Entrepreneur Endorsement Scholarship: Bishal Kafle!
Bishal is currently enrolled in the Global Social & Sustainable Enterprise MBA Program at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Bishal is a natural entrepreneur with an interest in agriculture and tourism. Originally from Nepal, Bishal has a strong belief in alleviating poverty through the creation of entrepreneurial opportunities. To understand the challenges and solutions of utilizing entrepreneurship to relieve poverty in developing nations, Bishal recognized the need to immerse himself in varying cultures and gain global market knowledge. In addition to working on an MBA at Colorado State, Bishal is currently spending his summer in Antigua, Guatemala studying the coffee industry.
While visiting the coffee farms of the indigenous people from the Mayan civilization, Bishal is learning how Guatemala has created a unique blend of agriculture and tourism. Bishal plans to take this knowledge back to the U.S. and Nepal, and create sustainable agro-tourism ventures. “I am excited to see the change agro-tourism has brought in the life of underprivileged farmers in Guatemala. I can’t wait to graduate to commence my social and sustainable venture,” says Bishal. Ultimately, Bishal dreams promoting Nepali agro-products in the American market as well as marketing Nepali tourism packages.
“We are very excited to be able to help Bishal on his journey to entrepreneurial success in the agriculture and tourism sectors,” says Jay Offerdahl, President of Viking Mergers & Acquisitions. “As entrepreneurs ourselves, we recognize the challenges of starting out and are thrilled to be able to give back to the next generation of small business leaders,” Jay continues. Viking Mergers & Acquisitions is thrilled to offer the Entrepreneur Endorsement Scholarship on a bi-annual basis and encourage young entrepreneurs to apply for the upcoming Spring 2017 semester. Congratulations again to Bishal Kafle and best of luck to all future applicants!