Hailee Jung
My Business Training
Grace Sunday
Quick Facts
Grace Sunday, nicknamed "Mummy Eli," is a resilient 42-year-old culinary entrepreneur operating in Yelwan Tudu, Bauchi State.
Growing up in a household of twenty-three siblings, Grace learned the value of perseverance through early financial hardships.
For the past fourteen years, she has navigated life as a single mother while also acting as the sole guardian for her late brother’s three orphaned children.
After overcoming an early business hardship, Grace completed a rigorous three-year apprenticeship to master the roasted fish trade.
Today, she runs her business with deep determination to provide a secure future for her six dependents.
Grace Sunday
Business Goals
Grace aims to transition her roadside setup into a permanent, professional dining establishment named Mummy Eli’s Fish Spot.
Operating daily from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM in a busy commercial marketplace, she plans to offer freshly prepared roasted fish in various sizes at fixed, transparent prices.
Her business targets students, civil servants, and neighborhood families aged 18 to 65 who value clean, reliable, and affordable dining options.
Grace expects to serve around fifty customers weekly, with peak demands during weekends and holidays.
Ultimately, she aims to build a trusted community landmark known for exceptional customer service.
Grace Sunday
Business Obstacles
Grace successfully serves a loyal customer base despite currently operating outdoors with just a basic grill, simple pots, and trays.
Her primary operational challenge is the lack of a permanent storefront, which forces her to transport heavy equipment back and forth every day.
Additionally, operating without modern appliances like a microwave or a deep freezer severely limits her storage capacity and prevents her from preparing ingredients in advance.
Finally, managing fluctuating daily overhead expenses and tracking her long-term profits without formal financial bookkeeping training makes it highly challenging to grow her savings or scale production.
Grace Sunday
Vulnerabilities
Grace is collaborating with Leadership Initiatives to move off the roadside and establish an independent marketplace restaurant.
This strategic partnership will equip her new business with essential commercial assets, including a deep freezer, a power generator, a fabricated grill, a gas cylinder, and more.
By providing the startup funding required to lease a secure storefront, this initiative eliminates her tedious daily equipment commute.
These resources will allow Grace to create a clean, welcoming indoor dining area with plastic tables and chairs, directly enabling her to preserve unsold inventory, increase daily production, and comfortably support her household.
My Business Proposal
Throughout the program, we worked closely with Grace Sunday to develop a clear understanding of their business goals. Though they have 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 created a proposal detailing the marketing materials necessary to support the growth of their business. We devised a plan that would allow Grace Sunday to optimize their business through a new brand identity
Investments in a logo and marketing materials, such as signs and flyers, are vital for establishing a strong brand identity and expanding the customer base. These visual assets create a consistent and memorable image that builds trust and recognition among potential clients.
My Business Proposal Presentation
As part of the International Leadership and Business Internship, I collaborated with top development experts to strengthen my business partner’s brand.
At the conclusion 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 demonstrate our entrepreneurial skills, showcase our strategic plan, and advocate for meaningful change in our partner’s business.
Our team was awarded grant funding to support the implementation of our business partner’s plan, providing life-changing support that will expand operations, strengthen 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.
Internship Highlights
- Business Partner Meeting
- Visit To The Embassy Of Zimbabwe
- Diplomacy Briefing At The Ethiopian Embassy
- Professional Mentorship
Our business development journey began with a one-on-one Zoom meeting with our partner, Grace Sunday, and our Nigerian project coordinator. This initial conversation laid the foundation for strong collaboration. It allowed us to better understand our partner's background, family, goals for the business, and the specific challenges they were facing.
Hearing directly from Grace Sunday provided 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 offered guidance, helping us ask the right questions and turn our ideas into meaningful, actionable strategies.
I had the unique opportunity to visit the Embassy of Zimbabwe, where I gained firsthand insight into the role of diplomacy in fostering strong relationships between Zimbabwe and the United States.
The embassy serves as a center for international collaboration, partnering with 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 Embassy of Zimbabwe shared how they collaborate 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 Ethiopian Embassy, I gained insight into how diplomacy shapes international cooperation and development. The experience deepened my 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 the Ethiopian people 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 that our team applied while developing our business proposal.
Throughout the internship, our team had the incredible opportunity to collaborate with leading 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.
My team also worked directly with a personal mentor. Our mentor provided us with career insights, project support, and feedback for our business ideas. The meetings we had throughout the week with our mentor provided critical insights from the initial business ideation phase through our project presentation.
With support from Ms. Brooks and other global leaders, including Eric Rosenstein, we refined our ideas, strengthened our strategy, and developed a powerful and polished 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.