Rubana Ahmad is a busy married mother of two young boys who followed her dream and her passion to set up her own business in fair trade, ethical fashion manufacture and retail.
Her business, Ethika, empowers women through trade: it enables mothers to buy their children food and pay for their education and it gives hope to orphans who have witnessed their family?s death. Rubana?s wish was to touch people?s lives and bring change through trade to eliminate poverty.
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It was not an easy dream to achieve. Rubana faced tough challenges and scepticism as to whether she would be able to maintain a business as well as having to look after her family. Through hard work and sheer determination she has defied all the odds and now has a business which employs four men and a cooperative of?five women who embroider for her.
Rubana graduated from a textile design degree and became a freelance designer, successfully selling embroidery designs internationally, from Australia, Japan, Germany, Paris and New York. But Rubana?s dream was to create a business that would not just benefit herself but also enable her to make a real difference to people living in poverty.
After being a homemaker for seven years she tried to achieve her dream but faced a number of challenges. She had no business training, found it difficult to get funding, lacked experience, had no job to apply for finance, and could not access any training that was flexible or had any childcare arrangements. After months of searching, Rubina eventually found a business course she could do from home and another that was sufficiently flexible.
During her course, she was told about Business Link, Rubana believes that this; ??provided me with vital information and guided me through all the basic steps needed to take to create a business plan which I had never even heard about. Through Business Link I found out that there was funding out there?? Business Link?s information on social enterprise helped guide Rubana through the process of establishing her business.
Thanks to Business Link she found out about the NES Programme, which gave her the grant she needed to start the business. Rubana?s hard work has been paying off since. Every single garment created by Ethika is a genuine work of art (see the company?s website at www.ethikaboutique.com for examples) and the company is helping to eliminate poverty in Pakistan by empowering their women workers through trade. Ethika donates 25% of all the profits on garments sold to the orphans in Pakistan.
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RESOURCES
Business Link can to help you:
? Assess if you?re ready to make the move
? Get guidance on writing a business plan, regulations, sales and marketing, finance and accounts
? Find free or subsidised support available locally, including events and workshops
Business Link services are free and can be accessed online at www.businesslink.gov.uk or by calling the National Help Line on 0845 600 9 006.