Interned with Leadership Initiatives to improve a business in the developing world.

Consulted with CEOs and marketing experts to develop viable solutions for a business in Bauchi State, Nigeria.

Received a grant reviewed by leaders from Exxon, The United Nations, and the Nigerian Embassy to implement solutions for my business partner.

Briana Gregory

Hansberry College Prep

Class of 2024

Briana Gregory is excited and nervous to have the honor of participating in the International Leadership & Business Internship this summer. Briana is excited to learn the way of the business world and hopefully one day have her own.

As an incoming Junior Briana attends Hansberry College Prep where she is in the IB program. She is also on the school's dance team and enjoys performing for her peers and participating in competitions/shows. Briana is excited to be in the IB program as it brings opportunities for her to learn and get into a great college.

In the future, Briana would like to have a black owned fashion business. Briana says that clothing is a way to express yourself and a way to be unique. She would like to open up stores all over the world where she sells clothes, jewelry, shoes..etc. Her interest in fashion began when black owned business became popular just for being black owned. Briana also has a fashion club at school where they would create shows for students to express themselves. Briana is determined to persue her career in fashion and open up her own business.

Collaborated With A Business In The Developing World

Earned a Development Grant to Enact Solutions

Collaborated With Business Development Experts

Our team reviewed the economic, social, political, and environmental factors that impact our partner business to design a launch plan and identify how to bridge the gap between our business partner’s current and desired conditions.

In order to fund the proposed business, our team composed a detailed plan and pitched our proposal to request seed funding from the Leadership Initiatives Grant Committee.

After researching the socio-economic conditions facing our business partners, our team worked with the Nigerian development staff to create effective solutions to the challenges our business partner was facing.

My Business Consultant Training

Jummai Ibrahim

Quick Facts

Business Partner Age: 40 years old

Business Partners Current Living Place: Karofin Madaki Bauchi

Marital Status: Not Married

Children: Ibrahim Mahmud, 15 years old, and Rahma Mahmud, 13 years old

Type of Business: Provision Store Business

Years Working: 3 years

Top Problems: 1) Lack of capital to start the business, 2) Lack of space to run the business, and 3) Not properly stocked with the right materials

Jummai loves working in a provision store business because it is demanding on a daily basis. She loves being able to provide food or daily necessities to families that need them.

She started learning the business by selling a few highly demanded items to her immediate neighbors after the death of her husband. The necessity to provide for her and her children's daily needs became her first motivation to learn the business.

Jummai says that "success to me means being able to train my children to become responsible citizens in society and having the financial ability to train them to the highest level of education (college degree). It is giving my children a better foundation than I had so they won't end up like me."

About Jummai

Jummai wants to be able to expand her busines and sell a wider variety of products. She also wants to be able to rent a shop and become one of the primary grocers in her community. She hopes to be able to make enough money to pay for her children to get their college degrees.

Business Goals

Jummai Ibrahim is a 40-year-old woman who lives in Bakaro/Karofin Madaki community of Bauchi. She had two children with her husband before he died about three years ago after battling an illness. Before his death, the family relied on him to provide for them.

Jummai is now in charge of ensuring that her two children's needs are taken care of, including their food, school, health, and other basic needs. She is responsible for all of this and manages it by selling daily necessities out of the corner of her room.

Family & Home

Jummai says that "my goal is that through this partnership I will be able to grow my business, get a better shop, learn ways to run and manage my business effectively, and lastly give back to my community by employing one or two widows like me."

Jummai believes that with her partnership with Leadership Initiatives, there are no limits to what she can achieve. She believes that her provision store business will continue to expand/diversify, and this will enable her to hire and teach more people, thereby allowing her to contribute in the fight against poverty in her community.

Our Partnership

Our goal is to provide Jummai with more capital so she can expand her business and have the financial security to support her family. By locating and transforming a beautiful convenience store she will be able to achieve this. We aim for her business to prosper and become one of the best in Bauchi. The money donated allows for upgrades such as a new workspace and stronger security. These improvements truly allow for her business to flourish. Excitingly, her successes will spread her message of female empowerment to a larger audience.

The goal of the advertising team is to attract a larger customer base to build up Jummai's business capital. Our team worked to build an advertising plan that is effective for the Nigerian culture while incorporating nuanced ideas from business professionals and professors. We utilized bright colors on signs and flyers hoping to catch the eye of new and returning customers. The name choice for our business partner's store is extremely sentimental since it displays the love she has for her daughter. Our logo and flyer design is an accurate representation of how Rahama Provisions will be reliably well stocked for the community; being a reliable option for the community. Jummai's ultimate goal is to expand her variety of products and maintain her role as the primary grocer in her community. Being a dominant businesswoman in her community inspires and strengthens other females surrounding her. Giving back to her community and proving to women that it is possible to run a successful business is the focal point of our advertisements.

My Grant Proposal

Leadership Initiatives is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is dedicated to creating future leaders across the globe through experiential learning.

In the International Business & Development Internship, I worked directly with some of the world’s leading business and development experts to learn about international business and development.

My Grant Proposal Presentation

At the conclusion of the internship, I presented my grant proposal to a panel of distinguished judges.

Internship Highlights

Our team began the business development process by having a one-on-one Zoom call directly with our business partner, Jummai Ibrahim, and Nigerian project coordinator to ensure productive collaboration.

We learned more about her life, family, and desires for the proposed business venture, as well as the challenges she was facing.

By discussing first-hand the challenges our partner faced, our team successfully and efficiently began to brainstorm solutions to launch her business.

Each morning we held constructive discussions about our ideas, the advice we received the day before, and the timeline necessary to begin implementing our ideas in real-time.

I had the unique opportunity to visit the Embassy of Sweden in Washington, DC, where I learned about Sweden and its diplomatic relationship with the United States.

The current ambassador of the Swedish Embassy is Ambassador Karin Olofsdotter, who is Sweden’s first female ambassador to the United States.

While we toured the embassy, we also learned about a wide range of policy issues including climate and sustainability, trade, security and democracy, gender equality, freedom of speech and culture.

Our team met with leading experts in the field of business and economic development from the State Department, Exxon, Harvard University, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, and top US companies and nonprofits.

With their guidance, we streamlined our initial ideas to further our efforts in launching the venture our business partner envisioned.

Our team advanced our communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills through hands-on project management and development.

These leaders included Dr. Sarah Stiles, Professor and Provost at Georgetown University, and Carla Brooks, a marketing leader and advertising expert at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication

Our team pitched the final proposal to a panel of expert judges from Harvard University, the Leadership Initiatives Nigerian Development Team, and the Leadership Initiatives Grant Committee.

This formal pitch allowed our team to practice our skills and utilize our entrepreneurial toolkit, all while showcasing our efforts to transform the business we partnered with.

At the end of the pitch, we were able to receive feedback on our proposal for our business partner.

Over the next year, our business partner’s venture will be made into reality and monitored for sustained success and growth.