Rakesh Srivastava, CPO, FAAOP, has been named Nebraska’s Small Business Person of the Year. Srivastava is the founder of Innovative Prosthetics & Orthotics, which has facilities in Omaha, Hastings, and Grand Island, Nebraska.
Originally from India, Srivastava graduated from the National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research. In 1997, he moved to the United States and attended graduate school at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. He is on the Division of Biomechanics faculty at the University of Nebraska at Omaha working on the Cyborg Beast prosthetic hand program.
Srivastava, who has a lower-limb amputation, told KSNB, “You know it’s a passion to me; more than a business. When I started to go the prosthetic clinic, that’s when I started to see how it makes a difference in other people’s lives,” he said. “When I went to college, I said that’s what I want to do; I want to go to prosthetic and orthotic school.”
Each year, the Small Business Administration elevates the top small businesses in the country for their contributions to the community and the local economy.
