Shourvik Aaryan_Santi
Shourvik Aaryan Santi
My Business Training
Abubakar Hassan
About Abubakar Hassan
Abubakar Hassan, fondly known as Dawisu, is a skilled electrician from Gida Dubu in Bauchi State, Nigeria. With over seven years of experience, he dreams of launching his own business, Dawisu Electricals.
The shop will offer expert installations, repairs, quality electrical products, and modern lighting solutions. Driven by resilience and passion, Abubakar aims to empower his community with reliable, honest, and innovative electrical services.
His journey, shaped by resilience and a deep love for his craft, drives his vision of empowering his community with reliable, honest, and innovative electrical services.
Abdulrahman Isa
Business Goals
Abubakar’s business, Dawisu Electricals, is rooted in honesty, dedication, and service to the community. He values hard work and treats every customer with respect.
His vision is to build a successful enterprise that leaves a lasting legacy of integrity and craftsmanship. Located in Tirwun, the shop will offer home wiring, appliance repair, POP lighting, and a range of quality electrical products.
Abubakar also hopes to mentor young electricians and raise industry standards. Through perseverance and reliable service, he aims to make Dawisu Electricals a trusted name that uplifts and empowers his community.
Abdulrahman Isa
Obstacles
Abubakar began his training at Abubakar Tatari Polytechnic, where he studied the theory of electrical installation. He further developed his skills during an apprenticeship with an engineer and now works under another, managing installations, repairs, and product sales.
Abubakar is recognized for his strong technical ability and excellent customer service, particularly in home lighting design.
His most pressing challenge is limited capital. He needs funding to rent a shop, buy inventory, and purchase key tools like a recess cutting machine and safety gear. He also lacks formal business training but remains determined to open his own shop soon.
Abdulrahman Isa
Our Partnership
Abubakar seeks support from Leadership Initiatives through mentorship, funding, and business training to grow his electrical shop, attract more customers, and manage finances effectively. With the right tools, resources, and guidance, he believes his business can thrive and become a lasting model of success in his community.
His goals include achieving financial independence, starting a family, and building a stable, peaceful home. Abubakar also hopes to train young electricians and create job opportunities for others.
In addition to these goals, he remains committed to supporting his family and contributing to their dreams, well-being, and long-term success through his business.
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 infrastructure.
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 Abubakar Hassan to gain a clear understanding of their business goals. Though Abubakar has 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 infrastructure materials that would support the growth of their business. We devised a plan that would allow Abubakar to optimize their business through a new budget and financial tracking system.
This new budget enables Abubakar to allocate funds toward essential materials and equipment, supporting the optimization of their services. Effective financial tracking will be crucial for managing growing profits and preserving assets, ensuring the business’s long-term growth and stability.
Internship Highlights
Our business development journey began with a one-on-one Zoom meeting with our partner, Abubakar Hassan, and our Nigerian project coordinator. This initial conversation laid the foundation for strong collaboration and helped us better understand Abubakar’s background, family, goals for the business, and the specific challenges they were facing.
Hearing directly from Abubakar 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 Swiss Embassy, where I gained insight into the role of diplomacy in fostering strong relationships between Switzerland 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 Swiss 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."
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 Gerald Gangaram, a decorated Apache helicopter pilot & leadership expert. He gave us a crash course in leadership and decision making, breaking down the key elements of what makes an effective leader. His insights helped us think bigger and more strategically about how to position our partner’s business for success.
With support from Mr. Gangaram 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.
To further enhance our presentation and proposal, our team had the unique opportunity to partner with a business and development mentor with immense experience in the fields of finance, development, business management, and more.
With support from our mentor, we were able to craft key questions for our business partners that enabled us to design an effective SWOT analysis that guided our work throughout the week. Following the completion of the SWOT analysis, our mentor worked alongside us to hone our ideas and proposal recommendations that would provide funding and new marketing materials for our partner.
At the end of the week, our mentor supported our slide deck design and gave us instrumental feedback as we practiced pitching our ideas and proposals. This feedback directly contributed to our receiving support from the Leadership Initiatives’ Board of Directors and Guest Judges to implement our microgrant and marketing designs.