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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
CLICK EACH MEMBER TO LEARN MORE.
Cheng Rui Zhu
Tsinghua International School
Class of 2024
Emma Zhu is currently a junior in high school passionate about political science and international relations and development. This is her second year doing the IBP with LI.
Donna Park
East Lyme High School
Class of 2024
Donna Park is a junior at East Lyme High School. She is an enthusiastic student enrolled in many extracurriculars and Advanced Placement classes.
Donna Park swims in the fall and plays tennis in the spring. She is enrolled in both community service and academic competition type clubs. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and playing music.
Donna Park is excited to be participating in the International Business internship course this season for the second consecutive year in a row because she believes business is a relevant topic for any career, and believes the lessons she learns here will be useful for her moving forward.
Maheera Hassan
East Lyme High School
Class of 2024
Maheera Hassan is currently a junior at East Lyme High School. She is a hard-working honor student involved in several honors level and Advanced Placement classes.
Maheera enjoys playing lacrosse in the spring and spending time with her friends, in and out of school, along with baking. She is secretary for several clubs such as student senate, Red Cross Club, and Key Club at East Lyme High School. She is also the co-president to Diversity Club. Aside from leadership positions, Maheera is involved in Spanish Honors Society and Ecology Club. Maheera Hassan is the representative for the entire class of 2024 at her school and works with her district's Board of Education.
Maheera is always looking for new opportunities to help people near and far so joining this program is a great way to practice her communication, organization, and working with others.
Our Business Partner
Adamu Musa
Business Statistics
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Adamu Musa
About Abubakar
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Adamu Musa
Community Impact
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Adamu Musa
Our Partnership
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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
$15 RAISED
$735 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.
CLICK BELOW TO VIEW OUR GLOBALGIVING PAGE
