Over 100 Muslim women gathered in Bangalore recently to break stereotypes and share their entrepreneurial journeys at the launch of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs (AWE). Formed to support and connect Muslim women entrepreneurs, the AWE is a wing of the Muslim Industrialists Association.
38-year-old NousheenTaj has turned the stereotypical role of a woman in the kitchen into a successful business that delivers homemade food to corporate offices. “It’s on the lines of Mumbai’s dabbawallahs although I use Dunzo to deliver it for now,” she says about her sixmonth-old startup called Areha Foods. The unique selling point of her service is the promise of the menu not being repeated for an entire month.
Nousheen, who has an MSc degree, worked as an administrator at a Hyderabad hospital until 2017. Away from her family in the city, she says she craved for home food every single day back then. “I know that pain and that’s why I wanted to make fresh food for people who are away from home,” she says. Her startup runs on a subscription basis for 26 days a month. It is based in Dairy Circle and caters to surrounding areas. “My sisters help me cook and I have two helpers for other things,” she says.
Among the women was Ishana, who convinced her family to invest her wedding savings into her business. Hestartup manufactures cloth sanitary pads and provides employment to 25 women.
Like Nousheen and Ishana, nearly 10 entrepreneurs spoke about their ventures at the launch of AWE. Shabana Begum of Sacred Oven, a baking company and Akhila of Alfa Creations, that specialises in designer hijabs (headscarves) and jilbabs, turned some heads with their unique designs at the event.
Salma Moosa, founder of city-based Startups Club, said: “If I can do this, even you all can. As women, we need to be seen and heard.”
(Extracted from timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
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