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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.
Jayden Yeung
Portola High School
Class of 2023
Jayden Yeung is a senior at Portola High School and a self-motivated student. He has been part of the John Hopkins Center For Talented Youth program since 2019 and has achieved a perfect score of 36 on the ACT. He is also the Valedictorian of Beacon Park School and a member of the National Honors Society.
Jayden enjoys music and helping others. He has co-founded his school’s Portola Chamber Music Club and is the co-president of Portola's Interlude Club. Jayden also founded Practice Makes Perfect, a free online tutoring service. Additionally, Jayden has been the concertmaster of the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra since 2021 and served as the Concertmaster of Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings from 2017 to 2019. Jayden has also performed four times at the Carnegie Hall in New York. During his free time, Jayden enjoys reading and learning card tricks.
Jayden is excited to be participating in the International Leadership and Business Internship this year. In addition to participating in DECA state and graduating from Wharton's Global Youth Program in the summer of 2022, Jayden enjoys his time as a Red Cross Leadership Camp Staff. He loves learning about how to combine his passion for business and helping others, and hopes to someday pursue a marketing or business development career.
Kyle Yeung
Pacific Academy
Class of 2026
Kyle Yeung is a 9th grader from Irvine, CA. He is interested in pursuing a business degree in the future. Kyle is a pianist and studied at The Juilliard School Pre-College Program in 2019-21 under Julian Martin. At age 7, he made his orchestral debut by winning first prize at the US CAPMT Young Musicians Concerto Competition.
Kyle was the first prize recipient at the Stravinsky Awards Bach International Piano Competition, Glendale Piano Competition, ENKOR International Music Competition, the US New Star Music Competition, and a gold medalist at the Northwest Chopin Competition. He served as the principal pianist of Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings in 2019-20 and guest artist in 2022. Kyle also plays the violin and served as the Concertmaster of the 2019 All-Southern California Elementary Honor Orchestra and Irvine Unified School District Elementary Honor Chamber Strings.
Nathan Gov
Woodbridge High School
Class of 2023
Nathan Gov is currently a rising high school senior at Woodbridge High School. Nathan is motivated to try new things and challenges himself both inside and outside the classroom.
Nathan is on his school's Academic Decathlon team and also is one of the top scorers in Orange County. He is also the president of Mu Alpha Theta. Aside from academics, Nathan also loves sports- he is the setter for his school's varsity volleyball team. In his free time, he enjoys playing piano and chess.
Nathan is thrilled to have the oppurtunity to participate in the International Business and Development Internship. He is excited to learn about the business world and use the knowledge from this internship to help further his interests in both economics and business.
Brian Chang
Arnold O. Beckman High School
Class of 2024
Brian is a Junior at Arnold O. Beckman High School. Brian is a driven student who is enrolled in honors and AP classes. He is also heavily involved in extracurricular organizations.
Brian enjoys basketball and playing the violin. He is the captain of his school basketball team and a leader in orchestras both in and out of school. During his free time, Brian also enjoys golfing and photography.
Brian is excited to be participating in the Leadership Initiatives International Internship Program. He is very excited to help someone improve their business and see success. In the future, Brian hopes to build his own business using skills he learns from this program.
Our Business Partner
Aisha Isa
Business Statistics
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Aisha Isa
About Aisha
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Aisha Isa
Community Impact
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Aisha Isa
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
$400 RAISED
$350 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.