Feven Tadele
My Business Consultant Training
Collaborated With A Business In The Developing World
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.
Earned a Development Grant to Enact Solutions
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.
Collaborated With Business Development Experts
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.
Maryam Kabir
About Maryam
Maryam's passion for culinary arts existed long before the start of her catering business. Her business started on an ordinary day. While coming home from a wedding, Maryam bought awara (soya bean curds) for 200 Naira. Along with the takeaway container she received at the wedding, Maryam used the awara to create a dish and sold it for 250 Naira. Maryam is mostly self-taught but has attended workshops to supplement her existing knowledge of catering.
One of Maryam's favorite things to do is putting a smile on other people's faces and her business gives her a great opportunity to do so. Maryam is known for her creative flair, attention to detail, and commitment to delivering exceptional experiences to her clients. Maryam is excited to see her business grow in the coming months and improve the lives of her family members.
Maryam Kabir
Business Goals
Maryam aspires towards several goals for her business. First and foremost, she hopes to continue developing a profitable business that will generate a consistent income for her family. This will be integral for freeing Maryam from financial stress and achieving long-term financial goals. Maryam dreams that her business will withstand the test of time through the respect of her community. She envisions a future where she can create unique and innovative menus, experiment with new flavors and presentation styles, and receive recognition for her culinary expertise.
Unfortunately, Maryam must battle against the rising costs of ingredients, labor, and overhead to reach these goals. These costs make it increasingly difficult to turn a profit. Maryam also struggles with logistical challenges, including meeting demands, which can often be complex and difficult to fulfill.
Maryam Kabir
Obstacles
In addition to her other problems, the catering business comes with inherent fluctuations as a seasonal business. Maryam struggles with maintaining consistent revenue when it is the off-season. She is hopeful that her partnership with Leadership Initiatives will take her one step closer to solving these issues.
Eventually, Maryam would like to expand operations by opening additional branches and diversifying her services. She imagines herself catering large-scale events, securing contracts with prestigious clients, and establishing a strong presence in Bauchi. No matter how successful she may become, Maryam is determined to continue improving her culinary skills. She aspires to be recognized as a culinary expert, experimenting with innovative flavors and presentations that captivate her clients' palates, and ensuring customer satisfaction and loyalty is paramount is her priority.
Maryam Kabir
Family & Home
Maryam is a 26-year-old woman that lives with her mother and siblings in Bauchi. They form a tight-knit family unit that supports her and shares her business's success. Maryam prioritizes family time, always ensuring that she has a good work-life balance. She cherishes shared meals, holidays, and traditions. Maryam uses her culinary skills to help create great memories for the people she loves.
Maryam was raised by a single mother, a retired journalist because her father died when she was young. As Maryam grew older, she helped her mother support her siblings. She contributes to her mother's hard work, allowing her to obtain a degree in crop production and pursue her catering business.
Maryam Kabir
Our Partnership
Maryam decided to partner with Leadership Initiatives because she believes it is the best way to improve her business and achieve the goals she has set out for herself. Through this partnership, she wishes to diversify and expand her business. Maryam hopes that she can spread joy through her cooking and support her family with something that she loves doing.
Maryam says "The partnership with Leadership Initiatives is the catalyst for my culinary dreams to soar higher, empowering me with the knowledge, skills, and resources to create a lasting impact. Together, we will unlock new horizons, amplify my business's reach, and inspire positive change in my community through the power of food."
My Grant
Proposal
Our infrastructure ideas for Maryam are based on providing her with a comfortable space for preparing to catered meals. We aim to find her a safe space that is close to home and provide her with essential equipment like a stove, generator, and deep freezer. These appliances are crucial to Maryam as she can not only improve her quality with these new cooking materials but also increase her productivity which will both help maximize profits for her.
With the unique plazas and small towns in the area, we aim to give Maryam a place where she can maximize business and find a location that will provide a turnout of new customers. Our focus infra structurally is to find an affordable place that will be able to operate for Maryam so it can insure her long- term success.
Our proposal includes finding a place for Maryam’s business, contributing to finding necessary equipment, and implementing a financial tracking system. We will improve business with a new location and enhance the product with the new supplies. Maryam will have her store for the business which is one of her important goals and she will be able to efficiently cater to large parties and new customers.
My Grant Proposal
Presentation
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 Leadership and Business Internship, I worked directly with some of the world’s leading developmental experts in order to build my partners business and brand.
At the conclusion of this internship, our team pitched the final proposal to a panel of esteemed judges from 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.
Internship Highlights
- Business Meeting
- Swedish Embassy
- International Monetary Fund
- Expert Assistance
Our team began the business development process by having a one-on-one Zoom call directly with our business partner, Maryam Muhammad Kabir , and Nigerian project coordinator to ensure productive collaboration.
We learned more about their life, family, and desires for the proposed business venture, as well as the challenges they were 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.
The on-staff project coordinators and business development experts helped facilitate the ideation process and ensured our team asked the right questions to produce tangible results.
I had the unique opportunity to visit the Swedish Embassy, where I learned about diplomatic relations between Sweden and the United States.
While touring the embassy, I learned about the wide range of policy issues and gained a better understanding of the embassy’s role in international development through sustainable and inclusive initiatives.
The embassy serves as a hub for collaboration with partner countries and international organizations, which facilitates the creation of solutions to address global issues, such as poverty, gender inequality, and climate change.
Swedish diplomats and officials work closely with local communities to identify needs and design programs that empower individuals and enhance overall societal well-being. This community-centered problem-solving is something my team and I aspired towards while crafting our business proposal.
I also visited the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which plays a crucial role in promoting financial stability throughout the world, facilitating trade, and providing financial support to member countries during economic hardship.
For over 50 years, the IMF has provided capacity development programs that drive effective economic management and policy implementation through technical assistance and training.
The IMF’s research-driven policymaking and dedication to sustainable economic management has established it as a key power in addressing global economic issues.
My visit to the IMF was not only educational, but inspiring. It allowed me to see the institution’s pivotal role in advancing international development and how I can implement their ideals into my own work.
Our team met with leading experts in the fields of business and economic development from Johns Hopkins University, the State Department, and GlobalGiving.
One such expert was Carla Brooks, Business and Development Officer at Johns Hopkins Center for Communications Program. She provided us with a crash course in advertising and marketing, in which we learned essential components of an effective marketing campaign.
Our work with Ms. Brooks was essential in preparing us for our culminating pitch deck presentation. With her and other expert guidance, we streamlined our initial ideas to further our efforts in launching the venture our business partner envisioned.
By the end of the week, we had incorporated the advice of leading experts from across the globe for our business proposal to empower and transform the life of our business partner.