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.

Gabriela Norwood

Woodward Academy

Class of 2022

Gabriela Norwood is a rising senior at Woodward Academy. Gabriela is an honor roll student and a member of the National Honor Society, enrolled in many Honors and AP level courses. Gabriela has received multiple awards (including two Presidential Service Awards) for her commitment to volunteer work and community service.

Gabriela enjoys reading, community service, and theatre. She is the President of her school's book club, WA Reads, and is a member of the Service Leadership Board. Gabriela has taken part in every play and musical in the theatre department and is the Community Service Chair of the Thespian Club. Gabriela has also won multiple titles in pageantry for her public speaking skills, poise, stage presence, and community service including Henry County Teen USA, National American Miss Georgia Jr. Teen, and USA National Preteen. Gabriela spends the rest of her time writing novels to be published on Wattpad -an online reading platform-, cultivating her vegetable garden, and creating care packages as a part of her service platform Norwood’s Necessities, which aims to help Atlanta’s homeless population.

Gabriela is excited to participate in the International Leadership & Business Internship this summer. She is very interested in marketing and behavioral economics and hopes to one day work in advertising for a company.

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

Aisha Hamidu Sa'idu

Business Statistics

Ms. Sa’idu does not currently have a permanent store front. In the future, she would like her business to be located along Federal Low-Cost Housing Estate Road in Bauchi State, Nigeria.

Ms. Sa’idu is a proud cobbler and bag-maker and enjoys cobbling female shoes the most.

The other services that Ms. Sa’idu can provide include cobbling male shoes, cobbling children’s shoes, and creating handbags.

Ms. Sa’idu tries to work as efficiently as possible with her services ranging from one to three hours from start to finish.

About Aisha

Aisha Hamidu Sa’idu is a 28 year old and is currently living with her uncle in Federal Low-Cost Housing Estate in Bauchi State, Nigeria.

Ms. Sa’idu is a single mother to her son Nana Khadija and daughter Abubakar Sadiq. Her ex-husband does not help support Ms. Sa’idu or her children in any way.

Due to this unfortunate reality, Ms. Sa’idu was determined to find something to do in order to sustain her family.

She made her first bag when she found that she did not have enough money to purchase one. Instead, Ms. Sa’idu purchased the materials to make her own bag.

Community Impact

Through this business venture, Ms. Sa’idu hopes to finance her family’s living expenses, purchase materials to sustain her craft, and save for the future.

Her children, Abubakar and Nana, are both five years old and attending nursery school. In addition to paying for their school fees, Ms. Sa’idu also pays her own tuition at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University where she is a fourth year student studying information technology.

Ms. Sa’idu’s greatest desire is for her business to grow large enough to employ other young women experiencing poverty.

She also hopes to diversify her business beyond shoes and bags through making wallets and belts with high-quality materials.

Our Partnership

Ms. Sa’idu is very excited and honored to collaborate with Leadership Initiatives’ International Leadership & Business Interns.

Before partnering with Leadership Initiatives, Ms. Sa’idu would often struggle to feed herself and her children with her limited income.

Ms. Sa’idu hoped to transform her skills and ideas into a self-sufficient business that will allow her to pursue a debt-free education.

She hopes to empower young women from his community and assist them in breaking the cycle of poverty and disenfranchisement.

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, Auwal Yakbu, 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 address the lack of an identifiable brand for my business partner Aisha Hamidu Sa'idu and her cobbling business, I presented this proposal to the distinguished panel of judges. I proposed a business name, NASAD Creations, that would be displayed on flyers, logos, and business cards in an effort to grow the businesses customer base.

My Business Proposal

I devised a marketing plan that would allow Ms. Aisha Hamidu Sa'idu to expand her outreach and increase her overall sales. In order to do this, I proposed a new logo, business name, and some new 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. Hamidu Sa’idu was provided a new business name: NASAD Creations, which would be printed on banners, business cards, and fliers. One thing that has always set Ms. Hamidu Sa’idu apart from her competition is that she is one of the only women in the field in the area. I capitalized on this fact by advertising her speed, low-cost, and that she is female-owned and operated.

The proposed advertising campaign would increase the customer base of NASAD Creations, increasing her overall revenue. Diversifying her demographic outreach will allow Ms. Hamidu Sa’idu to expand her market to new clientele with varying population demographics.

Our team began the business development process by having a one-on-one Zoom call directly with our business partner, Ms. Aisha Sa'idu, 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 Tiffany Norwood, serial entrepreneur with seven startups and nearly a billion dollars in funding under her belt.

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.

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