Kiran-Kamonjoh
Kiran Kamonjoh
My Jumpstart Training
Silifat Salisu
About Silifat Salisu
Silifat Salisu, fondly known as Bolale, is a passionate and experienced tailor with over 18 years in the fashion industry.
Working from a humble home-based shop, she combines creativity, discipline, and a deep love for tailoring to craft clothing that brings confidence and joy to her clients.
Silifat dreams of transforming her business into a fully equipped tailoring center that empowers women in her community. Her vision includes expanding with advanced tools and strong branding to reach a wider market across Bauchi State while mentoring apprentices and creating opportunities through high-quality, community-focused fashion services.
Silifat Salisu
Business Goals
Silifat’s business is founded on dedication, honesty, quality service, and the empowerment of women. Her vision is to build a respected tailoring brand in Bauchi known for professionalism and excellence.
She hopes her shop will become a hub for skill-building, where women gain financial independence and confidence. Currently operating from her family’s garage, Silifat dreams of transforming it into a modern tailoring studio with embroidery services, enhanced customer care, and better visibility.
She plans to relocate to a commercial area like Wuntin Dada, expanding her reach. Her goal is to offer fashion services and vocational training for aspiring tailors.
Silifat Salisu
Obstacles
Silifat’s tailoring journey began under a neighborhood tailor named Fatima, followed by four years of advanced training in the market. She developed strong skills in embroidery, machine operation, and customer service over 18 years.
However, her path has not been easy. A conflict at her apprenticeship shop left her devastated, until her father gifted her sewing machines and set up a workspace in their garage.
Since then, Silifat has faced major challenges, including limited funding, heavy family responsibilities, and the burden of paying employees. These struggles have made it difficult to save for shop expansion or invest in better equipment.
Silifat Salisu
Our Partnership
Silifat is seeking funding, mentorship, branding guidance, and financial literacy training through Leadership Initiatives. She hopes to acquire an industrial sewing machine, a generator, and basic supplies like scissors to boost productivity and expand her business.
With the right support, she believes she can grow her shop and uplift others by hiring and training more apprentices. Silifat’s long-term vision includes building a respected tailoring brand and securing a better future for her family.
She dreams of buying a house for her mother, traveling to Saudi Arabia, and ensuring her daughter’s education, all while being remembered for her hard work.
My Jumpstart Proposal Presentation
During the Jumpstart Program, I worked directly with some of the world’s leading developmental experts in order to expand my partner’s business and brand identity.
At the conclusion of this internship, our team pitched the final proposal to Bill Stefan, Leadership Initiatives Board Member and Deputy for Enterprise Management for the Department of Defense. 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, Silifat will utilize our proposal to propel sustainable growth of their business.
My Jumpstart Proposal
Throughout the program, we worked closely with Silifat Salisu to gain a clear understanding of their business goals. Though Silifat 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 and marketing materials that would support the growth of their business. We devised a plan that would allow Silifat to optimize their business through a new budget, financial tracking systems, and logo.
This new budget enables Silifat 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. 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.
Career Exploration
Our team began the business development process by having a one-on-one Zoom call directly with our business partner, Silifat Salisu, and our Nigerian project coordinator to ensure productive collaboration.
After discussing important considerations for our marketing materials including local populations, family situations, and prior experience, we began our exploration of the business industry.
We received briefings on marketing and branding tactics from Carla Brooks and Nikki Hendricks.
Outside of the classroom, we received a personalized tour of the Embassy of Austria where we learned about Austrian culture, US/Austria relations, and international business.
To begin our exploration of the medical field, we learned about patient histories and doctor-patient interactions from Dr. Zainab of the Kidney Center of Kano State, Nigeria.
We also got hands-on training for building plaster casts. After receiving this training, we had the opportunity to build model casts and practice assessing damages and breaks.
At the end of the week, we got to put our medical skills to the test through a demo EMT scene where we used triage and emergency response.
To explore the legal field, we received a briefing on legal advocacy from Professor Sarah Stiles, an experienced educator and leader in advocacy and leadership.
I also got to meet esteemed DC District Judge, Adam Hunter. Judge Hunter taught us about questioning, data analysis, and evidence collection.
I also received a personal tour of the University of Maryland Crime Lab where I learned about forensics science, evidence viability, and how to assess crime scenes.
We got the opportunity to learn about different aspects of the intelligence community from an active government investigator, Kesha Middleton. Ms. Middleton taught us about the role of investigators, how careers in government work, and the process for entering the government and intelligence fields.
Outside of the classroom, we took a tour of the International Spy Museum. Throughout this tour, we learned about intelligence and counterintelligence equipment.
We also got the opportunity to discuss topics related to global affairs and government relations through our meetings with the Austrian Embassy officials, government officials from the NSA and DoD, and through collaborations with representatives of universities including Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, American University, and more.