Miskaat_Iqbal
Miskaat Iqbal
My Business Training
Lawi Muhammed
About Lawi Muhammed
Lawi Muhammed is a passionate and hardworking entrepreneur from Bauchi State, Nigeria, who has committed over seven years to mastering the Plaster of Paris (POP) industry.
With a strong understanding of both the technical and business sides of POP materials, he is focused on launching Lawi POP Material, a customer-centered shop that supplies quality products for construction and interior decoration.
Lawi’s goal is to support his growing community while lifting his family from financial hardship. For him, this business represents more than income. It is a symbol of resilience, responsibility, and the hope for a stronger future.
Lawi Muhammed
Business Goals
Lawi POP Material is built on honesty, perseverance, and service to the community. Lawi’s values, shaped by his faith, focus on fairness and trust. He believes success comes from ethical business, strong relationships, and meaningful service.
His shop will offer POP cement, pla sponge, paint, nails, and bending wire to construction workers, decorators, and homeowners. Lawi wants every customer to feel respected and confident in the quality they receive.
His dream is to grow into one of Bauchi’s most reliable suppliers and eventually expand to other areas, creating opportunity and value wherever his business reaches.
Lawi Muhammed
Obstacles
Lawi spent seven years as the sole apprentice in a POP material shop under the guidance of a respected mentor named Musa. He gained valuable experience in customer service, inventory management, supplier relations, pricing, and shop operations. His strongest skill is understanding client needs and delivering with honesty and consistency.
Lawi’s biggest challenge is lack of capital. Despite saving and receiving support from family and friends, he struggles to fully stock his shop and meet demand.
Limited funding prevents bulk purchasing, brand visibility, and hiring apprentices. Competing with established businesses and building customer loyalty remain ongoing obstacles.
Lawi Muhammed
Our Partnership
Lawi is seeking support from Leadership Initiatives through mentorship, funding, and business training. He hopes to strengthen his financial management, expand his customer base, build a strong brand identity, and formalize his operations.
With guidance from students and mentors, Lawi believes his shop can grow into a trusted community resource. His goals include becoming financially independent, supporting his family, and creating jobs for youth.
He dreams of buying a motorcycle for deliveries, earning a diploma in business, and expanding his shop. More than anything, Lawi wants to be remembered for his integrity, perseverance, and positive impact on others.
My Grant Proposal Presentation
As part of the International Leadership and Business Internship, I collaborated with top development experts to help grow and strengthen my business partner’s brand.
At the end of the program, my team presented our final proposal to a panel of judges from the Leadership Initiatives Grant Committee. This formal pitch allowed us to apply our entrepreneurial skills, showcase our strategic plan, and advocate for meaningful change in our partner’s business.
Our team was awarded a grant that will fund the implementation of our business partner’s plan, providing life-changing support that will expand operations, improve financial stability, and create new growth opportunities. Over the next year, this grant will help transform the future of their business and improve the quality of life for both the entrepreneur and their community.
My Grant Proposal
Throughout the program, we worked closely with Lawi Muhammed to gain a clear understanding of their business goals. Though Lawihas leveraged their skills and years of experience to create their business, they face obstacles hindering the expansion of their work.
Guided by their vision, we crafted a proposal detailing the marketing materials that would support the growth of their business. We devised a plan that would allow Lawi to optimize their business through a new branding strategy.
Investments in a logo and marketing materials, such as signs and flyers, are also vital for establishing a strong brand identity and expanding the customer base. These visual assets help create a consistent and memorable image that builds trust and recognition among potential clients.
Internship Highlights
Our business development journey began with a one-on-one Zoom meeting with our partner, Lawi Muhammed, and our Nigerian project coordinator. This initial conversation laid the foundation for strong collaboration and helped us better understand Lawi’s background, family, goals for the business, and the specific challenges they were facing.
Hearing directly from Lawi gave us the insight we needed to begin brainstorming practical, personalized solutions. Each morning, our team held focused discussions to refine our ideas, reflect on expert advice from the day before, and adjust our timeline to move our plans forward efficiently.
Throughout the process, on-staff project coordinators and business development experts guided us, helping us ask the right questions and turn our ideas into meaningful, actionable strategies.
I had the unique opportunity to visit the Egyptian Embassy, where I gained insight into the role of diplomacy in fostering strong relationships between Egypt and the United States.
The embassy functions as a center for international collaboration, working with partner countries and global organizations to address pressing issues such as poverty, gender inequality, and climate change. Through this visit, I learned how diplomats engage in meaningful dialogue and policy development to create sustainable, people-focused solutions.
Officials from the Egyptian Embassy shared how they partner with local communities to identify needs and implement programs that empower individuals and strengthen long-term development. This commitment to community-driven impact inspired my team and me as we worked to develop our own business proposal focused on creating lasting change.
During my visit to the Embassy of Poland, I explored how diplomacy shapes international cooperation and development. The experience provided a deeper understanding of the embassy’s role in promoting peace, fostering economic partnerships, and addressing shared global challenges.
Embassy representatives discussed how their work supports cross-cultural exchange, advances policy priorities, and strengthens relationships between Poland and the United States. I learned how embassies serve as bridges, connecting governments, communities, and organizations to create innovative solutions for global issues.
This visit broadened my perspective on international leadership and inspired me to think critically about how collaboration, cultural awareness, and strategic planning can drive meaningful progress, principles we applied while developing our business proposal.
Throughout the internship, our team had the incredible opportunity to collaborate with top experts in business and economic development from Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. State Department, and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
One of the highlights was a session with Carla Brooks, Business and Development Officer at the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs. She gave us a crash course in marketing and advertising, breaking down the key elements of what makes a campaign actually work. Her insights helped us think bigger and more strategically about how to position our partner’s business for success.
With support from Ms. Brooks and other global leaders, we sharpened our ideas, refined our strategy, and built a powerful pitch deck to present at the end of the week. Their guidance helped us take our business proposal to the next level creating a plan designed not only to launch a venture, but to transform our business partner’s future.