Caleb-Olson
Caleb Olson
My Jumpstart Training
Ummi Mustapha
About Ummi Mustapha
Ummi Mustapha was born and raised in Wuntin Dada, Bauchi State, where she completed both her primary and secondary education. Married for 20 years and a devoted mother of seven, she comes from a close-knit family of six siblings.
Ummi’s greatest dream is to provide her children with access to quality education at the best schools. From an early age, she showed a strong interest in business, particularly tailoring and fashion design.
Her greatest inspiration has always been her mother, a dedicated tailor whose commitment to both her craft and family deeply shaped Ummi’s values and aspirations.
Ummi Mustapha
Business Goals
Ummi’s business is known for its commitment to quality and its ability to stay current with evolving trends. In 2020, she secured a major contract to produce one thousand bags for an organization. Although initially nervous about fulfilling such a large order, she completed it successfully, impressing the client and continuing to supply them to this day.
Customer satisfaction is Ummi’s top priority, and she takes great pride in delivering outstanding results. She hopes to be remembered as a creative and hardworking entrepreneur.
Her goal is to build a business rooted in dedication, reliability, and consistent excellence.
Ummi Mustapha
Obstacles
Ummi has worked in fashion and tailoring for 20 years. Encouraged by her mother, she trained in a fashion school in Kaduna before returning to Bauchi to work alongside her. Despite her passion and skill, Ummi has faced major challenges.
Funding was the biggest hurdle when opening her shop. Her husband sold his motorcycle to help pay rent, and her mother gave up her sewing machine for support.
Today, she continues to face obstacles including unreliable electricity, limited access to bag-making materials in Bauchi, and heavy family responsibilities. Her children and loyal customers motivate her to keep pushing forward.
Ummi Mustapha
Our Partnership
Ummi hopes to gain practical knowledge in business management and receive essential tools currently missing from her shop through her partnership with Leadership Initiatives.
Over the next five years, Ummi hopes her success will enable her to install solar power in her shop to ensure consistent electricity, open a second shop with a showroom to attract more customers, and enroll her children in a quality school.
One immediate goal is to buy a motorcycle for her eldest son, who will soon begin college. This would also help reduce transportation costs, as he could assist in taking his younger siblings to school.
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, Ummi will utilize our proposal to propel sustainable growth of their business.
My Jumpstart Proposal
Throughout the program, we worked closely with Ummi Mustapha to gain a clear understanding of their business goals. Though Ummi 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 Ummi to optimize their business through a new budget, financial tracking systems, and logo.
This new budget enables Ummi 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, Ummi Mustapha, 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.