Black Connect NextGen Leaders Internship Program

Building tomorrow’s innovators today.

The NextGen Leaders Internship Program is a one-semester, experiential learning opportunity that places motivated college students with Black Connect member businesses across a wide range of industries. Students gain real-world skills, mentorship, career exposure, and pathways to leadership — while supporting the growth of Black-owned businesses nationwide.

👉 Open to undergraduate and graduate students in all majors
👉 College credit may be available depending on your institution
👉 In-person, virtual, and hybrid placements available

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How it Works

  • Applicants identify:

    • Skills they want to learn or enhance

    • Industries they want to explore

    • Work style preference (virtual, in-person, hybrid)

    Program Tracks

    Students can choose from specialized tracks such as:

    • Business & Entrepreneurship

    • Marketing & Communications

    • Technology & Innovation

    • Finance & Accounting

    • Creative & Digital Media

    • Nonprofit & Social Impact

    • Product, Retail & E-Commerce

  • We match students with entrepreneurs, startups, nonprofits, and small businesses whose needs align with the student’s interests and abilities.

  • The pedagogical intent of the internship is to provide an experiential learning activity for students interested in business ownership, entrepreneurship and freelancing, or pursuing traditional jobs with large companies that involve creating new products and services or initiating expansion of the business into new markets.

    Depending on the area assigned, students will be involved in one or more of the entrepreneurial processes as described below:

    •  Forming a business entity

    •  Writing a business or marketing plan

    •  Opportunity Recognition: the ability to perceive and to act upon opportunities in the environment that others don't see; developing a set of skills that can be used to differentiate between an idea and an opportunity.

    •  Opportunity evaluation: the ability to use processes to evaluate an opportunity (e.g., feasibility analysis, market analysis) for the purpose of deciding whether or not to pursue the opportunity.

    •  Innovation: creating new or novel ideas, offerings, processes, unique combinations.

    •  Creative problem solving: the ability to examine standard situations or problems in new ways.

    •  Mitigating risk: being a calculated risk-taker; managing risk.

    •  Thinking and acting as a guerilla: taking unconventional approaches to examining problems and developing solutions.

    •  Resource leveraging: the ability to assess and acquire necessary resources.

    •  Consumer psychology: the ability to understand factors that influence consumer behavior can, and use those factors to develop sound marketing strategy and content.

    •  Implementation of change: the ability to create and manage change.

    •  Building a plan for an innovative concept: the capacity to create and build something from practically nothing.

    •  Entrepreneurial process: identifying an opportunity; developing a business concept; assessing the required resources; acquiring the necessary resources; implementing and managing; harvesting the venture.

  • Interns complete:

    • 8–12 hours per week

    • 10–15 week semester

    • Project-based assignments

    • Mentorship sessions

    • Mid-term + final evaluations

  • Students present a final project highlighting their contributions and newly developed skills — preparing them for future roles or entrepreneurial paths.

 

Why Choose the NextGen Leaders Internship Program?

    • Gain résumé-ready real-world experience

    • Receive mentorship from Black entrepreneurs

    • Explore new industries

    • Build professional confidence & personal leadership

    • Earn college credit (if eligible)

    • Join a national network advancing Black economic mobility

    • A turnkey experiential learning partner

    • Structured supervision and evaluation

    • Culturally competent mentorship

    • Professional readiness development

    • Industry-relevant work across multiple sectors

    • Supports diversity, equity, and career mobility initiatives

    • Access motivated student talent

    • Receive support in marketing, operations, tech, research, finance, design & more

    • Strengthen internal capacity

    • Contribute to workforce development

    • Help cultivate the next generation of Black leaders

 

Mission Alignment

Black entrepreneurs and small business owners lack capital sufficient to enable them to recruit, hire and/or retain essential talent.

Too few employees limit the ability to serve current customers and grow the business, and an increased workload causes stress and takes a toll on the business owner’s physical and mental health.

Without sufficient capital and proper staffing, Black-owned businesses are at an increased risk of losing business, which means lost revenue and opportunities for growth into new markets, and decreased customer satisfaction.

The NextGen Leaders Internship Program advances Black Connect’s mission by

preparing the next generation of leaders who will shape the future of Black economic mobility.

By connecting students with Black-owned businesses, we strengthen the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem through mentorship, collaboration, and capacity-building.

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Questions? Contact info@blackconnect.org