Business and Sales track · Commercial growth

Business Development Internship in Bali.

As a business development intern, you work with a commercial team to find and open new opportunities before a salesperson ever gets on a call. That means mapping target markets and segments, researching companies that fit the ideal customer profile, and building the outreach lists and messaging that start conversations. You track every touchpoint in the CRM, follow up on replies, and help draft partnership proposals once a conversation turns into interest. Most weeks split between research at your desk and coordinating with whoever owns the relationship once it's warm.

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A business development intern reviewing outreach research on a laptop in Bali
How the work flows

What you'll actually work on.

You won't do all of this at once. Over a placement you'll work across these stages, owning a scoped piece at each one, with a supervisor reviewing as you go.

Tools you'll work with.

The exact toolset depends on the company you're matched with. This is the common ground across most business development placements.

Research & data
Google Sheets LinkedIn Sales Navigator Crunchbase Industry databases
CRM & outreach
HubSpot Pipedrive Apollo Email sequencing
Workflow & judgment
Slack Partnership proposals Prioritisation Follow-up cadence

Map the market

Research target sectors, define the ideal customer profile, and build a list of companies worth approaching, using public data and existing customer patterns.

Build the outreach

Write and test outreach messages, load contacts into the CRM, and launch a first wave of emails or LinkedIn messages.

Work the replies

Follow up on responses, qualify who is genuinely a fit, and book the calls a salesperson or founder needs to take next.

Draft the proposal

Once a conversation is live, help put together the partnership or commercial proposal: the offer, the numbers, and what happens if they say yes.

Honest scope

Where an intern fits on the team.

Good placements are clear about the line between contributing and carrying. Here's roughly where it sits for an intern.

Yours to own

A market and a list

Defined research, a segment to map, outreach you run and track, and a proposal you help draft. Reviewed by a supervisor, and used to open live conversations.

Not on you (yet)

The final commercial terms

Negotiating contract terms, signing off on pricing, or owning a partnership once it's closed. You'll see how these decisions get made and contribute research toward them, but you won't make the call alone.

A project you might ship

An example of the work.

A host company wants to expand into a new customer segment. You research 150 companies that fit the profile, build a scored list, and write three outreach message variants before running the first two weeks of the campaign. You report open and reply rates, flag which message performed best, and hand over a shortlist of warm leads for the sales team to take from there.

It's the kind of project you can talk through in a job interview, because you did it: the market, the list, the numbers, and what you'd change on the next campaign.

Is this you?

Who this role fits.

You don't need prior sales experience. Placements are matched to your level, so first-time interns and more advanced students both fit.

  • You're studying business, marketing, international management, or a related degree.
  • You're comfortable doing research and can turn it into a structured list, not just a document of links.
  • You can write clearly and adapt your tone for a cold email versus a warm follow-up.
  • You want commercial experience you can describe with numbers, not just "helped with sales."
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Life in the Bali cohort.

Coworking, weekends, orientation, and the students you'll be there with — straight from @islandinternships.

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What you leave with

What you take away.

For your CV

A pipeline you can point to

A defined market segment, an outreach campaign with reply and conversion numbers you tracked yourself, and a partnership proposal you helped write.

Experience

What building a pipeline actually takes

The research and follow-up work that sits behind every partnership announcement, and why persistence matters more than a clever opening line.

Network & direction

Contacts, and a sense of your next step

Founders and commercial teams from an international business community, plus a clearer read on whether business development, sales, or partnerships fits you.

Keep exploring

Related Business & Sales roles.

You apply to the track, not a single job ad — we match you to the role that fits. These are the closest neighbours.

Sales Intern Qualify leads and build outreach sequences that turn into revenue Consulting Intern Client research and analysis that feed a strategy recommendation Partnerships and Grants Outreach Intern Map partners and open funding or collaboration conversations ← All 8 business roles See the full Business & Sales track
Bali Housing Guide Full Cost Breakdown Bali Visa Guide Student Outcomes
FAQ

Business development internship questions.

What does a business development intern actually do?

A business development intern researches target markets, builds lists of companies that fit a host company's ideal customer profile, and runs outreach campaigns to open new conversations. You track responses in a CRM, qualify who's a fit, and help draft the partnership or commercial proposals that follow. As an intern you own a scoped piece of this pipeline, working under a supervisor rather than closing deals independently.

Do I need sales experience to apply?

No. You need to be a university student in business, marketing, international management, or a related degree, with an interest in commercial work and the ability to write clearly. Placements are matched to your level, so students with no prior business development experience are placed regularly.

Is a business development internship in Bali credit-eligible for my degree?

Yes. Island Internship provides the documentation European universities require: an internship agreement, named supervisor, learning objectives, mid-term evaluation, and final evaluation report. Students from Dutch, Belgian, French, and other European universities have earned academic credit through these placements.

What tools will I use as a business development intern in Bali?

Most placements involve a CRM such as HubSpot or Pipedrive, research tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator or Crunchbase, and outreach or sequencing tools for email and LinkedIn. The exact stack depends on the company you're matched with, but CRM discipline and structured research are common across almost all business development placements.

How long is a business development internship in Bali, and what does it cost?

Placements run 3 to 6 months, with a 10-week minimum to fit standard university requirements. The program fee is €449 (Essentials) or €649 (Full Support, which adds housing arrangement, airport pickup, scooter, and orientation week). Monthly living costs in Bali typically run €440–€630. Full breakdown at pricing.

The same semester in the Netherlands costs €990–1,450/month.
Bali costs €440–630/month.

You only pay once matched and confirmed. The application is free and takes 10 minutes.

Apply free — takes 10 minutes See the full Business & Sales track