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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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Helaine Zhao
Pacific Academy
Class of 2024
Helaine Zhao is a rising junior at Pacific Academy.
Helaine enjoys playing the piano, writing, singing, and spending time with her family. She is the co-founder of the Between You and I Organization, which frequently organizes events to give back to the community. She also enjoys playing the piano, and has won several state to international piano competitions. During her free time, Helaine enjoys writing and eating good food.
Helaine is very excited to be a part of the International Leadership and Business Internship. She is looking forward to learn more about business and hopes to help others through this experience. She is excited to share her ideas and also make a positive impact on the world she lives in.
Jake Li
Troy High School
Class of 2024
Jake Li is a rising junior at Troy High School. He is a well involved student in school, participating in many clubs and extracurriculars as well as enrolling in many Advanced Placement and college credit courses.
Jake Li enjoys going for late night jogs, playing his alto saxophone, and reading. He is in the Troy High School band, Esports program, and is on one of Troy’s cybersecurity teams. Jake is also a board member of the Chemistry Club and plans to join the National Honor Society. During his free time, he takes time to tutor students through zoom and actively participates in his Boy Scouts troop.
As someone who loves tutoring and working with leadership, Jake is very excited to be a part of Leadership Initiative’s International Business & Development Internship. Jake loves being able to help the less fortunate through charity and acts of volunteering and hopes to take the experience he will learn from this internship and apply it to his future life.
Our Internship Team
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Susie Gu
Diamond Bar High School
Class of 2025
Susie Gu is a talented individual who attends Diamond Bar High School as a sophomore. She is a dedicated student who actively participates in clubs around campus.
Susie is in the DB Symphony Orchestra at school, and has been playing the violin for almost 8 years. Outside of school, she serves as an editor for Kiwanis Anthology and DB KIWIN'S, two clubs dedicated to community service. Susie enjoys drawing and writing in her free time.
Susie will be excited to join the International Business & Development Internship this year. Ultimately, she hopes to major in business. Susie will be able to apply the skills she learns in this internship to good use in the future.
Andy Gao
Northwood High School
Class of 2024
Andy Gao is a rising junior at Northwood High School. Andy is involved in number of academic clubs, including Science Olympiad and Odyssey of the Mind.
Outside of school, Andy enjoys building model rockets for his NASA Student Launch Initiative team. In his free time, you can find him reading or baking.
Andy is excited to be participating in the Business and Development Internship Program this year, as he hopes to pursue economics or finance in the future.
Angela Hou
University High School
Class of 2025
Angela Hou is currently a sophomore attending University High School. She is a diligent student who is taking both Honors and Advanced Placement courses.
Angela loves to bake in her leisure time. Outside of school, Angela plays the piano and also takes art classes. She is a member of the Modeled United Nations(MUN) club at school.
Angela Hou is delighted to join the International Business & Development Internship this year. She would like to learn more about Business through the internship and hopes to find a career in the Business field one day.
Our Business Partner
Rabiu Ahmed
Business Statistics
Mr. Ahmed's business helps ensure members of the community have a safe environment to live in by providing secure doors and windows for homes and business places.
His current business has three apprentices in training, and with the new skills that they are developing through their work with Mr. Ahmed, they will someday be able to start up their own welding businesses independently.
Rabiu Ahmed
About Rabiu
Mr. Ahmed started to learn the skill of welding when he was only 10 years old in hopes of supporting himself, and he hopes to be able to start his own welding business independently to showcase his skills.
Outside of his business, Mr. Ahmed is now married with four children and hopes to be able to support his family with his business.
Rabiu Ahmed
Community Impact
He also currently has three apprentices working under him, and with the skills Mr. Ahmed is teaching to them, they will hopefully be able to start their own business in the future too!
Rabiu Ahmed
Our Partnership
Through his partnership with the International Internship Program, Mr. Ahmed hopes to develop the business acumen necessary to make this dream a reality.
He also hopes to expand his business so that it will reach a greater audience and be able to use his skills to make his community a safer and better place.
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
$130 RAISED
$620 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.
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