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.

Immanuel Muhammad

Laurel Springs Middle School

Class of 2027

Immanuel Muhammad is a student at Laurel Springs School. He is entering the 7th grade this upcoming school year. Immanuel Muhammad has a passion for engineering.

Immanuel enjoys playing Basketball and Football. During his free time Immanuel enjoys reading books and poems.

Immanuel is looking forward to participating in the International Leadership & Business Internship Summer Program. He anticipates that he will gain the knowledge to succeed in business while also learning about engineering.

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

Destiny Success

Business Statistics

Ms. Success currently operates out of a mechanic shop at Dass Park, Bauchi. She last paid rent in August of 2020 and plans to move her business location.

Ms. Success enjoys the financial independence her business allows her. She hopes to continue providing for her children through her cooking.

Ms. Success works from Mondays to Saturdays from 7:00 am GMT+1 to 6:00 pm GMT+1.

On average, Ms. Success serves 100 customers a week and generates about 15,000 Naira a month.

About Destiny

Usman is a 43-year-old man who lives in a small two bedroom house in a community called Railway in Bauchi State, Nigeria.

He is married and has two children – a boy and a girl, ages two and five. Every morning, he drops his children at school before heading to work at his carpentry workshop.

Usman owns a carpentry business and specializes in making and repairing kitchen cabinets, beds, wardrobes, couches, and chairs.

Community Impact

Usman's business helps ensure that members of his community have access to affordable, comfortable, and quality furniture for their homes and office.

Usman has trained and employed five members of his local community and hopes to create more jobs in the future. Through the profits from his business, Usman has been able to buy a plot of land, purchase a bike, pay for his wife's school at Bauchi State Polytechnics, and support his children.

He also provides a crucial service to his region, as knowledge in carpentry is often required in his community. Usman's carpentry business directly benefits 8 people in his wider community.

Our Partnership

After partnering with Leadership Initiatives’ Youth Development Programs in the past, Usman’s success has allowed him to be a leader in his community and create new jobs. Usman is excited to continue to work with teams to learn how to advertise and market his services, manage his finances, create an invoice, and register his business with the Nigerian Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

One day, Usman hopes his carpentry business will grow enough to employ more youth from his community – giving them an opportunity to obtain an education and have a chance at social mobility. Eventually, Usman also hopes to own his workshop and have several branches both within and outside his community.

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 the internship, I presented my research proposal to a panel of judges including Ahmed Muhammed, Umar Muhammad, and Marshall Bailly. Respectively, these judges are Harvard Medical School Director of Talent Acquisition, Leadership Initiatives Nigerian Program Manager, and Leadership Initiatives Founder & Executive Director.

In order to grow the customer base for my business partner, Destiny Success, and her Restaurant business, I presented this proposal to the distinguished panel of judges. I proposed a new business name, Successful Restaurant and Delight, and provided advertising campaigns that included a new logo, a business card, a poster, and a sample flyer.

My Business Proposal

I devised a marketing plan that would allow Ms. Destiny Success to expand her outreach and increase her overall sales. In order to do this, I proposed a new logo and business name, along with a new set of advertising materials.

In order to implement these new branding opportunities, I devised a multi-step marketing plan meant to increase her demographic pool and overall customer base. Ms. Destiny Success was provided with a new business name: Successful Restaurant and Delight, that will be printed on business cards, banners, and flyers. One thing that has always set Ms. Success apart from her competition is her drive to provide for the most people possible. I capitalized on this notion by branding her restaurant around a home-style environment that will be warm and inviting to all of the customers.

The proposed advertising campaign would increase the customer base of Successful Restaurant and Delight, increasing her overall revenue. Diversifying her demographic outreach will allow Ms. Success to expand her market to workers, families, and business owners all around Bauchi, Nigeria.

Our team began the business development process by having a one-on-one Zoom call directly with our business partner, Desiny Success, 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.

The on-staff project coordinators and business development experts helped facilitate the ideation process and ensured our team asked the right questions to produce fruitful results.

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.

Meeting the Business Partner

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.

These leaders included Dr. Sarah Stiles, Professor and Provost at Georgetown University, and Steven Pressman, best-selling author and President at the Association for Social Economics.

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.

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.

Top Executives & Experts

Our team then worked directly with Professor Heather Aranyi, leading communication coach and faculty in Northwestern University’s Farley Center for Entrepreneurship.

Professor Aranyi supported our team in developing the story behind our pitch, properly framing our business venture, and honing our pitching and communication skills.

Professor Aranyi’s coaching prepared my team for the pitch at the end of the internship and helped us build our entrepreneurial toolkit.

With her collaboration, we consolidated our proposal into a targeted and effective plan that embodied the vision of our business partner.

Throughout the internship, we polished our communication and presentation skills while preparing ourselves to sell the story of our business partner and her business.

Communication & Pitch Coaching

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.

custom team picture with ahmed

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.

Pitch To Development Experts