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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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Zih Jia Ni
Taipei Private Tsai Hsing High School
Class of 2024
Mia Ni is a diligent student at Taipei Private Tsai Hsing High School. Mia Ni got a good place in many competitions. For instance, in the BWB Forum, Mia Ni got TOP FIVE, TOP THREE, and PIONEER NOMINATE.
Mia Ni is a hard work student, though there are subjects which she is not good at, she will still work on them. Since English is not her first native language, she will watch Netflix learn some pronunciation, which is also her hobby. She participates in lots of activities and competitions in 9 and 10th grade. For example, because Mia Ni is interested in Business, so she participate in a contest held by Lancaster University and ISC, and she won third place in Taiwan.
The reason why Mia Ni would like to join this program is that she wants to study business-related subjects in college. And Mia Ni keeps finding out if there are any professional activities she can participate in. So Mia Ni found this internship. She is excited since she wants to know what the business-related exactly about!
Madeleine Freeland
Lycée Français de San Francisco
Class of 2024
Madeleine Freeland is a rising junior at the Lycée Français de San Francisco (LFSF)which she will graduate from with an American high school degree as well as the French baccalaureate. Madeleine Freeland is a hard-working, dedicated student who has inspired and led many projects within her school, namely creating the school newspaper.
Madeleine enjoys hapkido, a Korean martial art, and ballet. She loves sports, loving all of them from tennis to capoeira. She also plays the cello and the piano. At the LFSF, she is the president of the Model UN club, receiving the award of distinction at her first conference. She is also the founder of the school newspaper, the LFSF gazette, and she takes an active role in the DEIJ (diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice) club. Outside of school, Madeleine volunteers her time to make the world a kinder, safer place. She also enjoys volunteering for International Sanctuary, an organization dedicated to helping female survivors of human trafficking through income, education, healthcare, and community.
Madeleine cannot wait to begin the business internship, especially for the real-life and hands-on experience offered. She hopes to develop her entrepreneurial capacities and aid companies achieve economic success. In the future, Madeleine wishes to implement her qualities as a leader and entrepreneur to help women across the world reach gender equality and true independence and freedom.
Our Internship Team
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Camila Peña
Unidad Educativa Rosa de Jesús Cordero
Class of 2023
Camila Peña is a rising senior and dedicated honor student at Unidad Educativa Rosa de Jesús Cordero ''Catalinas'' in Cuenca, Ecuador. She is pursuing a dual baccalaureate through the IB Diploma Programme and her national school curriculum (Bachillerato General Unificado).
Camila is passionate about combining service and entrepreneurship through a multifaceted approach. In 2020, she founded Compresas Warm, a start-up of imported wellness goods serving over 200 clients. While currently developing a multinational mentorship network for young entrepreneurs with headquarters in Tanzania, she is also the founder and Editor-in-Chief of PERSPECTIVE, an institutional business magazine. Her experience ranges from leadership across different disciplines through activities such as MUN, Astrophysics Club, and Performing Arts.
Camila is enthusiastic about participating in this year's International Business & Development Internship and utilizing this opportunity to combine her passions in further instances. She will broaden her knowledge of entrepreneurship in an international setting to serve her clients expertly and maximize her global impact through the skills she will acquire.
Fernando Mingo Moreno
Colegio los Sauces la Moraleja
Class of 2024
Fernando Mingo is a junior at Colegio los Sauces la Moraleja, where until now he has passed every year with honors. Fernando studies in Spain's national education system but looks forward to studying abroad.
Fernando plays tennis at a competitive level, but also plays football and surfs whenever he can (it's difficult in a landlocked area). Another of his favourite hobbies is reading. Fernando os also enrolled on the debate club at his school.
Fernando has joined the International Business & Development Internship in hopes of gaining valuable insight into the inner workings of a business and applying it into his future career as an aerospace/mechanical engineer, as well as getting to know people internationally both his teammates and the people he will be working hand-to-hand with
Thuc Anh Nguyen
Saint Anthony's High School
Class of 2023
Thuc Anh Nguyen is currently a senior in Saint Anthony's high school. She comes from Vietnam and now is living in the US. This is her first year studying and living in the US. She enrolled in a Advancement Placement course which is AP Calculus BC.
Thuc Anh is interested in psychology, volunteering and DIY. At school, she is a co-founder and vice president of Psychology club. She's also a member of Soup Kitchen Service Club where she can do voluntary works in a church nearby. During her free time, she enjoys hanging and travelling.
Thuc Anh is interested in participating in International Business and Development Internship Program because she loves meeting with people from all over the world. Her major in her future university may be Business so she hopes that this program will help her broaden her knowledge about business and give her practical experiences as she'll work with businesses in Nigeria.
Our Business Partner
Comfort Titus
Business Statistics
Comfort owns a hairdressing salon and specializes in washing, weaving, and fixing hair, fixing eyelashes, fixing nails. She also sells attachments and weaves.
Her favorite colors are red and ash
Comfort Titus
About Comfort
Her parents have struggled as farmers to take care of the entire family which became a challenge for Comfort and her other siblings. Looking at the condition of her family, Comfort took the decision to learn a new skill: she found a tutor who taught her about makeup and hair; the learning of this new skill allowed Comfort to establish her beauty salon. Although it was initially challenging, Comfort has positively impacted her community. From the profit of her business, Comfort is now supporting her parents while paying the tuition of one of her siblings.
Comfort Titus
Community Impact
Through her business venture (C4 Special & Beauty Salon), Comfort Titus hoped to finance her family's living expenses, as well as pay for one of her sibling’s education, and she hopes to continue providing for her family and covering the education expenses for all her siblings.
One day, Comfort Titus hopes to see her business grow enough to be able to employ other women from her community and empower them to break the cycle of poverty. In the future, Comfort hopes to create a training academy for young girls, further helping to give back to the community through education and growth.
Comfort Titus
Our Partnership
Comfort Titus hopes that this partnership will expand her business knowledge and develop her entrepreneurial skills so that her business can grow further. Through our guidance, Comfort will focus on the development of her salon’s commercialism and expansion. Moreover, Comfort hopes to have a separate shop for selling hair products and attachments.
We are currently working on restructuring both the finances and marketing of C4 Special & Beauty Salon business, while fundraising money to aid her business endeavors. Through our efforts, the team has already raised a whopping 1,348 USD. The funds will be entirely allocated to help Comfort’s business development through new business strategies, including a financial tracking system.
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
$1343 RAISED
$157 NEEDED
$1500 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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