A recent UCA graduate and a UCA professor received the fourth place award in the international Small Business Institute Case of the Year competition.
Modupe Ladeji, who graduated in December with an MBA from UCA, was recognized for his business plan and feasibility study for an oil and gas exploration consulting firm in his native country of Nigeria. His advisor was Don B. Bradley III, Executive Director of the Small Business Advancement National Center and Professor of Marketing at UCA.
Bradley recently accepted the award for Ladeji at the Small Business Institute’s 35th Annual International Conference in San Diego.
The UCA entry was one of four finalists in this international competition. The first place award went to San Diego State University; second place was presented to Plymouth State University of New Hampshire; and third place was captured by the University of Tampa, Florida.
“This was the first year that UCA entered this competition, and we were extremely pleased to finish as an international finalist,” Bradley said. “Modupe’s feasibility study on the oil and natural gas industry in Nigeria fit in well with the current natural gas exploration in the Conway area. He was up against hundreds of schools from across the U.S. and Canada, and this is a very prestigious award.”
Ladeji is now a project coordinator for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in Bentonville, Ark. He completed his project in Bradley’s entrepreneurship class at UCA.
“This really shows the internationalization of our MBA program,” Bradley said. “Through that class, we do projects all over Arkansas, the U.S. and around the world through Winrock International. If anyone wants a feasibility study, that’s what we do. We encourage anyone who wants a business feasibility study to contact us.”
