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The International Business Development Internship
Leadership Initiatives is working to end extreme poverty in Northern Nigeria through entrepreneurship and innovation. As part of the International Business & Development Program, Leadership Initiatives identifies small business owners who live under $1.90 a day, have little formal business education, and are struggling to provide for their family’s basic needs.
Once business owners have completed training, Leadership Initiatives pairs International Business & Development Interns with a business partner and business mentor. Interns are given the opportunity to help tackle major issues at the grassroots level by working directly with small business owners to support and incubate local entrepreneurs. Students will work with Leadership Initiatives staff over the course of nine months to provide income-generating solutions that focus on food supply, women empowerment, environment and sustainability, personal care, and mobility.
The International Business & Development Internship aims to introduce interns to the complexities and challenges of running a small business and working within community development. Interns will gain an understanding of the unwavering commitment, focus, and determination required to work within this field. From working with interns, local business owners will have new knowledge of entrepreneurial skills they need to create business opportunities that will contribute to socio-economic development and significantly transform their lives.
Our Internship Team
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Archana Ponnada
Marriotts Ridge High School
Class of 2024
Archana Ponnada is a rising junior at Marriotts Ridge High School. Archana is a principal's honor roll student taking Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment Courses.
Archana enjoys reading and baking in her free time. She also loves listening to music and going on walks. Archana runs her own business, Archie's Cupcakes in which she sells cupcakes, cakes, and other pastries. Archana donates 25% of her company's revenue to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. At school, she is president of Millionaire's Club, co-president of her school's chapter of National Breast Cancer Coalition, and historian of Class Council. She is also an active member of FBLA and Model UN, having won awards in both clubs.
Archana is excited to participate in International Business and Development Internship this school year. She has always had a passion for business and finance which she exhibits through her extracurriculars. She wants to take the skills she acquires through this internship and apply them to the future as she plans to be an entrepreneur herself one day.
Jasmine Li
Poolsville High School
Class of 2024
Jasmine Li is a rising junior at Poolesville High School and is studying in the Global Ecology Science Program there. Jasmine is a notable student who is taking both honors and Advanced Placement courses.
Jasmine plays flute and likes to read in her spare time. She is in her school's Science Olympiad team and is accomplished in many regional and state tournaments. She also does math tutoring in her spare time, and enjoys studying math and science.
Jasmine is excited to be participating in the International Business and Development Program, and is hoping to learn many new skills to help in her future endeavors.
Erica Qin
Marriotts Ridge High School
Class of 2024
Erica Qin is a rising junior at Marriotts Ridge High School. She has a younger sister and a dog, and is enrolled in various Advanced Placement and GT courses at school.
Erica plays volleyball and is a member of the Howard County GT Orchestra. At school, she is a member of Model UN, Future Business Leaders of America, and Speech and Debate. In her free time, she enjoys biking and playing with her dog.
Erica is excited to be attending the 2022-23 International Business & Development Internship. She has always had an interest in business and wishes to learn more about the subject. In the future, she hopes to continue this path and make an impact on her community.
Allie Liu
Centennial High School
Class of 2024
Allie Liu is a junior at Centennial High School.
Allie enjoys playing the violin and public speaking activities. In school, she is involved with student government, mock trial, debate, and model UN. She also loves hiking and spending time with friends and family.
Allie is super excited to be an intern with the Business and Development program. She hopes to learn more about business and econ, and hopes to pursue a business degree in the future.
Our Business Partner
Justina Yohanna
Business Statistics
Mrs. Yohanna is very religious and goes to Church every Sunday. She received training on how to run a salon in Columbia State Nigeria, and she has been running her own business for the past three years.
Justina Yohanna
About Justina
Mrs. Yohanna is a proud beauty salonist in the Bauchi community. She takes pride in being able to impact the lives of women in Bauchi by instilling a sense of confidence within them through her hair styling. Her clients range in age from 15-39.
Mrs. Yohanna puts quality above all else, ensuring that she only provides the best for her clients.
Justina Yohanna
Community Impact
As Mrs. Yohanna continues to grow her business, she would like to employ young women that can be trained to perform the same hair services that she specializes in. She would like to hire and train young girls ages 18-19 who are willing to learn her ways of braiding Nigerian hair.
She hopes to expand further into the beauty business in the future by offering nail, lash, etc. services as well.
Mrs. Yohanna hopes to be a prominent pillar in the Bauchi State, Nigeria community as she continues to grow her business.
Justina Yohanna
Our Partnership
Due to recently giving birth to a child, Mrs. Yohanna has not been able to allocate as much time as she would like to improve her business. Our goal is to work closely with her and take care of the management aspects in order to lift some weight off her shoulders.
Mrs. Yohanna hopes to empower females of all ages in her community as expands her salon business.
Our Approach
FINANCIAL TRACKING
Financially literate entrepreneurs make growth-oriented financial and economic decisions for their savings, borrowing, and investments. Our team is working with Isiyaka Sa’ad to create an effective financial tracking system for his business finances, receipts, and daily costs.
OUR ADVERTISING
Our team identified target markets and key demographics to create a customer acquisition plan. We are working with Isiyaka Sa’ad to redesign his brand and create effective marketing campaigns.
BUSINESS IMPROVEMENTS
Steady growth is a critical component of creating self-sustaining communities. Our team is working to identify key areas of opportunity for Isiyaka Sa’ad and design solutions with grant money to improve his business to foster growth.
Our Fundraising
$634 RAISED
$116 NEEDED
$750 GOAL
Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced some of the highest growth rates globally over the past 10 years. While this means that people in these nations have become more optimistic about their social and economic future, the region continues to face a myriad of historical problems. In order to continue steady growth and achieve a future of equitable conditions in the region, our International Internship Program team seeks to build stronger communities from the grassroots level through fundraising for community development.
Funds raised are used to implement community-based education programs, pay staff to run the operations on-site, and invest in training for local leaders. Leadership Initiatives uses fundraised money to develop a network of support for actionable change and accountability between our team, the Leadership Initiatives staff, and the community stakeholders we work with.
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