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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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Dahyun Park
North Allegheny High School
Class of 2023
Dahyun Park is a senior at North Allegheny Senior High School. She is enrolled in several Advanced Placement classes and three clubs at school, such as Econ Club, Interact Club, and Key Club.
Dahyun Park enjoys playing violin and reading. She is the President of Econ Club, and outside of school, she has participated in the Pittsburgh Youth Concert Orchestra. During her free time, she reads or volunteers at the Northland Public Library.
Dahyun has already completed a year of the International Internship Program and is excited to be returning for another year. She loves learning and working with others and hopes to use valuable skills attained through this program in the future.
Katharine Peng
North Allegheny High School
Class of 2023
Katharine Peng is a senior at North Allegheny Senior High School. Katharine is a dedicated honors student who is enrolled in mostly Advanced Placement courses.
Katharine enjoys competing in speech & debate and playing the violin. At school, she is one of the Vice Presidents for her school’s Speech & Debate club. She is also a member of the Pittsburgh Youth Concert Orchestra and the National Honors Society. During her free time, Katharine enjoys writing and baking.
Katharine is excited to be participating in the International Business & Development internship this year. She loves learning about different aspects of business & the economy, and hopes to someday be an economics professor. In the future, Katharine wants to take the skills she has learned and help people around the world develop their own businesses.
Yeyoung Yook
North Allegheny High School
Class of 2023
Yeyoung is a rising senior in North Allegheny high school. She studies deliberately in AP classes as well as extracurriculars.
Yeyoung enjoys playing in Girl’s varsity bowling team and learning team work, and she shows her musical talents by making into competitive PMEA honors, district, and region bands. She is the founder and President of the club Together Juntos and make wonderful holiday decorations with the special students! She got accepted to the National Honors Society and participates in many available volunteering opportunities.
Yeyoung is thrilled to join the business internship in IIP this year and help small businesses grow while learning the entrepreneurship and the leadership im the business.
Our Business Partner
Shamsuddeen Bala
Business Statistics
Some words he would use to describe himself and his business are professional, trustworthy, and organized.
His favorite color is any shade of blue, but he likes sky blue and navy blue in particular.
Shamsuddeen Bala
About Shamsuddeen
Shamsuddeen Bala
Community Impact
Shamsuddeen Bala
Our Partnership
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
$0 RAISED
$750 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
