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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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Isabella Carosi
Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School
Class of 2025
Isabella Carosi is a rising sophmore at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington, DC. Isabella Carosi is an honors student who is very interested in STEM based based classes.
Isabella Carosi plays basketball and tennis. She is a member of Mathletes and Body Positivity Club at her school. She is also starting a Pickleball Club. During her free time Isabella enjoys exercising and hanging out with friends.
Isabella Carosi is excited to participate in the International Business & Development Internship this summer. She loves extending her helping hands to whoever needs it and she loves learning more about different societies in the world around her. In the future Isabella wants to use the communication skills she has learned to help her succeed in her career.
Mikayla Edmunds
Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School
Class of 2025
A rising sophomore and student athlete at Georgetown Visitation, Mikayla is a committed learner. She is enrolled in advanced honors courses, including Honors Spanish III and Honors Pre-calculus, with only six other sophomores in her class.
Mikayla participates in many sports, including varsity soccer, varsity track, and JV basketball. As a freshman, Mikayla played in every varsity soccer game, helping her team win the conference title, the first time the school has won in 12 years. She also participates in many clubs bringing her love of math and science together, including BEDA (Building, Engineering, Design and Architecture) and Mathletes.
Mikayla is very excited to participate in the International Business and Development Internship. She wants to utilize her aptitude in math and science by pursuing environmental engineering to make the world a better place. Mikayla is also open to exploring the medical field, either as a doctor or a biomedical engineer.Through this internship, Mikayla can acquire the necessary skills to advance in whichever field she chooses.
Our Internship Team
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Tifanny Souza
The Mary Louis Academy
Class of 2024
Tifanny Souza is a rising senior at Cypress Creek High school. Tifanny is involved in the International Baccalaureate Program as well as the Student Government Organization at her school.
Tifanny enjoys dancing and helping out those in need. At school, Tifanny is involved in many clubs holding officer positions in some such as the Public Relations officer for National Honor Society as well as the Secretary officer for Best Buddies. During her free time, Tifanny enjoys reading and hanging out with her friends.
Tifanny is excited to be participating in the International Business & Development Internship this school year. She likes being able to explore what it is like to work in a business environment and hopes to perhaps peruse a career in a sector of the business world. Tifanny wants to take the skills she learns to become a better business woman and help develop new concepts in the business field.
Liana Duncan
The Mary Louis Academy
Class of 2024
Liana Duncan is a rising junior at The Mary Louis Academy. Liana Duncan is a dedicated honor student who is enrolled in Advanced Placement courses.
Liana Duncan enjoys cooking. At school, she is the Secretary of the Social Justice Club. She is also a member of the African Heritage Caribbean Club. During her free time, Liana loves to watch television.
Liana is excited to be participating in the Business and Development Internship this year. She loves learning about business and marketing & hopes to someday be a international financial marketer in the continent of Asia. In the future, Liana wants to take the skills she has learned and help make advances in the business field.
Sydney McLoughlin
The Mary Louis Academy
Class of 2025
Sydney McLoughlin is a rising junior at The Mary Louis Academy. Sydney has always been described as a leader by every teacher she has had. Ever since middle school- where she was Student Council President- Sydney has made it a priority to inspire others and push them to do their best work. She is currently a member of the Student Council at The Mary Louis Academy and is always quick to volunteer her resources the minute anyone asks for assistance. Sydney is enrolled in all honors or advanced placement courses while still maintaining a healthy social life and participating in many clubs and outside activities.
Sydney has been a dancer for thirteen years and has participated in a variety of dance competitions as well as theatre productions. Her love of the arts has helped her to grow into a confident young woman and inspired her to always go out for every opportunity. Sydney gives back to the performing arts community that has done so much for her by teaching dance to younger children, organizing free dance classes at an elementary school where the arts are not a priority, and running a performing arts showcase at a summer camp. Sydney is very service oriented and loves to help others as shown in her dedication to the designated service homeroom at her school, The Mary Louis Academy, and in her volunteer work at Brooklyn Animal Action working with injured feral cats.
Sydney is enthused to be a member of the International Business and Development Internship. She is the fundraising chair of her team and is so excited to make a difference in the lives of small business owners who do not have access to the same types of opportunities. Travel is something that is very important to Sydney and whenever she travels to a new country she tries to immerse herself in the culture and customs by making connections with people there. One of the major appeals of this internship for Sydney was the opportunity to learn more about culture in Nigeria and what can be done to support the small business owners there.
Our Business Partner
Jamila Bitrus
Business Statistics
Mrs. Bitrus had 5 years of apprenticeship before opening and running her own salon.
She is dedicated to providing quality and affordable hair care and treatment to her clients throughout all the price fluctuation that happens in Nigeria.
Jamila Bitrus
About Jamila
While her husband works as a civil servant, Jamila splits her time between taking care of her children and running her salon. She loves spending as much time as possible with her children from watching cartoons like icegirl to playing games.
Mrs. Bitrus works long hours in order to make money and has successfully run her business for about 10 years. This has helped to bring in income that continues to pay for her family’s clothing, food, and shelter which is hard with the constant fluctuation of prices in Nigeria.
Jamila Bitrus
Community Impact
She has helped girls learn a valued trade which has given them the opportunity to gain work experience.
Two of the women Jamila works with currently attend school on top of working at the salon.
She hopes to be able to continue to help the women and girls in her community while also sponsoring her children through private school.
Jamila Bitrus
Our Partnership
Through this partnership she hopes to gain experience and information on how to expand her business to other areas of service such as makeup and nail services.
Jamila also hopes to expand her clientele demographic to include younger teenage girls through middle age women.
She hopes to gain attraction and customers in student and government residential living areas and show that her business is fun, elegant, and desired.
Mrs. Bitrus wants to help her children receive the highest levels of education that they desire in order to give them the best opportunities in life.
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
$712 RAISED
$38 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.