Regent Leads Final Phase of Entrepreneurship Training Program in Peru

Top Five Business Plan Winners to be Announced in February.

January 11, 2008

GLE alumnus Douglas Fike and his wife, Charlene, train participants to lead and manage a small business.

Virginia Beach, Va. – Occurring just days before the Free Trade Agreement was signed between Peru and the U.S., Regent University’s School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship (GLE) conducted the third and final phase of the Kingdom Entrepreneurs program in Lima, Peru on December 8.

Selected as having developed the best business plans of those in the previous phase of the program, 150 participants competed for one of five financial grants to assist them in implementing their business plans.

According to Dr. Sergio Matviuk, GLE professor and head of the project, “the Kingdom Entrepreneurs program will conclude during the last week of February 2008 when the top five business plan winners are announced.”

This final session titled, “Leading and Managing a Small Business,” was led by GLE alumnus Douglas Fike and his wife, Charlene.

Douglas Fike received his master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Regent University and serves as executive director of Growth Dynamics International, a non-profit organization based in Warm Springs, Va. He is also founding partner of Transformational Leadership Coaching.

Program participants gain valuable insight during third entrepreneurship training session in Lima, Peru.

Also a successful entrepreneur, Charlene Fike oversees

operations for the Fike’s boutique hotel and restaurant while she develops business and mentors emerging

marketplace leaders.

During this final phase of the project, Peruvian Congresswoman Mirtha Lazo Rios de Hornung challenged the participants to press on in bringing change to Peru through entrepreneurial activity and thanked Regent University for the vision and efforts to carry out this program.

“We are pleased that this initiative has been welcomed and embraced by the local churches, Peruvian NGOs, and an exceptional network of volunteers,” said Dr. Marcela Chavan-Matviuk, GLE international program specialist.

The Kingdom Entrepreneurs program is part of an extensive GLE entrepreneurship development project that resulted from a meeting with Peruvian President Alan Garcia in late 2006. The program is designed specifically for young adults interested in entrepreneurship and individuals planning to launch new business initiatives as a way of overcoming the country’s unemployment rate and slow micro economic development.

About the School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship
The School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship (GLE) is one of seven graduate schools within Regent University and is located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Offering fully-accredited master's and doctoral degrees in a flexible online format, GLE provides rigorous, yet innovative academic programs that can accommodate even the busiest professionals. For more information, visit www.regent.edu/global.

About Regent University

Founded in 1978, Regent University has more than 4,000 students studying on its campus in Virginia Beach, Va., and online around the world. Regent offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from a Christian perspective in fields including business, communication and the arts, divinity, education, government, law, leadership, and psychology and counseling.