Maddox-Lee
Maddox Lee
My Jumpstart Training
Umar Bala Jibrin
About Umar Bala Jibrin
Umar Bala Jibrin is a skilled and passionate motorcycle repair technician from Bauchi with over 30 years of hands-on experience. From a young age, he recognized that formal education alone might not secure his future, so he chose to master a trade that would sustain him and uplift others.
Umar is deeply committed to excellence and integrity in his work. His dream is to build a successful motorcycle repair business that offers reliable services to his community.
Beyond repairs, he envisions his shop as a hub for skills training, job creation, and economic empowerment for youth in Bauchi.
Umar Bala Jibrin
Business Goals
Umar Bala Jibrin’s business is rooted in honesty, professionalism, and a deep commitment to community service. His vision is to run a reliable motorcycle repair shop that meets customer needs while creating jobs and mentoring future technicians.
Umar hopes to be remembered as someone who worked hard to uplift others. He aims to establish a professional, well-equipped shop in a more visible location in Bauchi, offering services like diagnostics, maintenance, spare parts, and fast turnarounds.
Through consistent service and a welcoming environment, he plans to grow his customer base and train youth, passing on the skills that shaped his journey.
Umar Bala Jibrin
Obstacles
Umar Bala Jibrin began his journey with a three-year apprenticeship under a mentor named Ahmad, followed by five years of experience with Mr. Ado. Through determination and years of savings, he opened his own shop, which he has now operated for 13 years.
Despite 30 years of mastery in motorcycle repair, Umar faced challenges. Early on, he struggled to secure a prime location due to competition and settled in a less visible, shared space. This limited customer traffic.
Over time, word spread about his reliable service. However, limited access to modern tools and spare parts continues to hinder his business growth.
Umar Bala Jibrin
Our Partnership
Umar Bala Jibrin is seeking mentorship, funding, and essential tools such as an electric spanner, toolbox, spare parts, and high-quality screwdrivers to grow his motorcycle repair business.
He also hopes to gain skills in financial management and record keeping. Through Leadership Initiatives, Umar is looking for a partnership that helps him overcome existing limitations and reach new levels of success.
His dream is to own a permanent, well-located shop that supports multiple workers and apprentices. He also hopes to provide a better life for his family by building a comfortable home and supporting his children’s education and future success.
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, Umar will utilize our proposal to propel sustainable growth of their business.
My Jumpstart Proposal
Throughout the program, we worked closely with Umar Bala Jibrin to gain a clear understanding of their business goals. Though Umar 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 Umar to optimize their business through a new budget, financial tracking systems, and logo.
This new budget enables Umar 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, Umar Bala Jibrin, 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.