Ella Tamami
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.
Yakubu Umar
About Yakuba
Yakuba first developed an interest in motorcycle repair when he visited his uncle's repair shop when he was 10 years old. After completing secondary school, Yakuba pursued employment at a local repair shop in Wunti Market. He worked there as an apprentice for seven years. Through his hard work and dedication, he was finally able to graduate as a skilled motorcycle repairman. Now that he has the necessary skills, he is excited to move forward into his next journey of owning his own motorcycle repair shop.
Though the repair business is physically demanding and often exposes Yakuba to undesirable hazards, his desire to succeed and his passion for the business allow him to persist. Motorcycles are one of the primary modes of transportation in the area. Yakuba receives immense satisfaction from helping people maintain these essential items.
Yakubu Umar
Business Goals
Ultimately, Yakuba has hopes that a successful business will allow him to go back to school and complete a degree in mechanical engineering. His other goals are dependent on financial stability. With such a large family to support, Yakuba aspires to buy a larger home. He especially wants this space for his mother, who he believes should have a comfortable and private room to call her own. Lastly, he wants to ensure that his family has food and that they don't have to struggle to find their next meal every day.
Though Yakuba is determined to turn his dreams into reality, he faces several obstacles. Firstly, he is unable to buy the tools necessary to start his own repair business. In addition to this, Yakuba does not have anyone in his life that can support him in opening his business. Lastly, he does not have the means or knowledge to advertise his services.
Yakubu Umar
Obstacles
Eventually, Yakuba has dreams of sharing his success with his community. He hopes that his business will grow large enough to employ many young people. It is their mission to transform their lives by giving them the means to be productive and generate income to support themselves and their family. In addition to this, Yakuba hopes that his business continues to grow and that it is widely known in Bauchi.
Yakuba defines success as being able to impact the lives of the young children in his community and contribute to their future development. He wants to become recognized and respected in his community by building trust, remaining patient, and being loyal to the people and customers around him. He believes this will ultimately build the foundation of long-term success.
Yakubu Umar
Family & Home
Yakuba is a 23-year-old man who lives with his family in a small apartment in the Igbo Quarters of Bauchi. Though he has a wife and six children of his own, Yakuba still serves as a caregiver and financial support for his parents and siblings. His father is a retired driver with long-standing medical care needs and bills due to a motor vehicle accident. Yakuba's mother is a maid and has recently started to need medical attention, as well, due to the strenuous nature of her work. Currently, out of his five siblings, he is the only child with the capability to support their family.
Every morning, Yakuba starts his day by washing his father's clothes. He then heads to the market to find work to pay for food to bring home that day. In the afternoons, Yakuba works as an employee at his friend's motorcycle repair shop. Using the money he earns from that job, Yakuba pays for his family's electricity and siblings' school fees.
Yakubu Umar
Our Partnership
Yakuba is extremely excited to partner with Leadership Initiatives and believes it will be the best way to achieve his goals. He feels that Leadership Initiatives will help him develop a successful business, which will create opportunities for the youth in his community. In addition to this, Yakuba is the majority income earner for his family and needs support to continue providing for his loved ones. Eventually, he hopes the income he generates through his business will allow him to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering.
Yakuba says "Partnering with Leadership Initiatives and the interns is an amazing opportunity for well-served people, I am happy to be part of the organization. I hope to become an example to other people that will prove a little can make a lot of change and that with a little help, success is achievable."
My Grant
Proposal
The advertising team for Yakson Motorcycle Repair aims to help Yakubu Umar’s business successfully launch through various advertising tactics.
Due to the very high number of motorcycle repair businesses in Nigeria, it is of the utmost importance that Yakubu’s business stands out in all aspects, from very vibrant, eye-catching signs to having prices and discounts that are more affordable than those of his competitors.
Yakubu Umar’s future business hopes to attract customers of all ages through his vibrant red and blue logo and his excellent prices and discounts drawing customers away from his competitors to his shop! Yakubu also has experience with a wider variety of motorcycles with expertise in two brands, while his competitors only have the capabilities to repair one brand of motorcycles. Overall we hope to successfully get Yakubu’s business up and running with the long-term goal of having our eye- catching flyers, business cards, logos, and other modes of advertisement attract customers out of the thousands of repair shops to go to his unique repair shop.
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, Yakubu Umar , 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.