Choose Nearest City

  • Calgary
  • Ottawa
  • Edmonton
  • Regina
  • Halifax
  • Saskatoon
  • Hamilton
  • Toronto GTA
  • Kingston
  • Vancouver
  • Kitchener
  • Waterloo
  • London
  • Windsor
  • Montreal
  • Winnipeg
  • Outside of Canada

Choose your city (or nearest city)

  • Calgary
  • Montreal
  • Edmonton
  • Ottawa
  • Regina
  • Saskatoon
  • Halifax
  • Toronto GTA
  • Hamilton
  • Vancouver
  • Kingston
  • Waterloo
  • Kitchener
  • Windsor
  • London
  • Winnipeg
  • Outside of Canada
  • Events
  • Directory
  • PatronsPatrons

Enter your login credentials

Forgot username?

Forgot password?

Remember Me
Register
Facebook Login Google Login
loading
Please wait, logging in...

Register Details

[Form copy_BFRegistration not found!]
Have an account? Login

Forgot Username

[Form forgot_username not found!]

Forgot Password

[Form forgot_password not found!]

How would you like to proceed?

LOG IN / SIGN UP allows you to:
  • Have a record of all events you've been to.
  • Request cancellation if you cannot make it to an event.
  • Post an event of your own.
  • Add your business/organization listing to the online directory.
  • Add an opportunity (job, volunteer, petition, survey, etc.).

Please login to continue

LOG IN / SIGN UP allows you to:
  • Have a record of all events you've been to.
  • Request cancellation if you cannot make it to an event.
  • Post an event of your own.
  • Add your business/organization listing to the online directory.
  • Add an opportunity (job, volunteer, petition, survey, etc.).
Muslim Link is Ottawa Muslims' Online Community Newspaper. The site includes an up-to-date Events Listing and Business and Community Directory for Ottawa Muslims.
.
ML Directory
ML Directory
  • Home
  • Events
    • Ottawa
    • Montreal
    • Toronto GTA
    • Edmonton
    • Calgary
    • Vancouver
    • London
    • Windsor
    • Hamilton
    • Halifax
    • Winnipeg
    • Kingston
    • Kitchener/Waterloo
    • Regina/Saskatoon
    • Event Table
  • Directory
    • Ottawa
    • Montreal
    • Toronto GTA
    • Edmonton
    • Calgary
    • Vancouver
    • London
    • Windsor
    • Hamilton
    • Halifax
    • Winnipeg
    • Kingston
    • Kitchener/Waterloo
    • Regina/Saskatoon
  • News
  • Stories
  • Islamic Finance
  • Classifieds
    • Opportunities
      • Volunteer Opportunities
      • Job Opportunities
      • Crowdfunding
      • Bazaar Vendors Wanted
      • Call for Donations
      • ​​Scholarships / Bursaries
      • ​​Petitions
      • Nominations
      • ​​Call for Participants
      • ​​Call for Submissions
      • Call for Abstracts
      • Grants
      • ​​Surveys
      • ​​Invitation to Dialogue
      • Sponsorships
      • Contests
    • Locations
      • Jumaa Locations
      • Full-Time Islamic Schools
      • Part-Time Islamic Schools
      • Hifz Programs
      • Iftar Locations
      • Taraweeh Prayers
      • I'tikaf Locations
      • Eid Prayers
      • Eid Festival Locations
      • Camps Locations
    • Rentals
      • Add Rental
    • Find a Place
    • Find a Tenant
  • Opportunities
  • Locations
  • Rentals
  • Blog
  • Action Alerts
  • Home
  • News
  • Connecting Muslim Women Entrepreneurs
Amal Elfarou and Shalini bint Ashok Amal Elfarou and Shalini bint Ashok Berak Hussain
09
May
2014

Connecting Muslim Women Entrepreneurs

Written by  Mahwash Fatima
Published in News
  • Add to Facebook
  • Like this? Tweet it to your followers!

For the first time in Ottawa, Muslim business women got a chance to come together to network, share ideas and learn about each other. This networking event was organized by the Muslim Women’s Business Network of Ottawa (MWBNO) on Saturday April 12th, 2014. The event was a huge success and was attended by a total of 28 women which consisted of beauticians, lawyers, professional consultants, etc.

The Muslim Women’s Business Network of Ottawa was established in March 2014 by two women entrepreneurs: Jessica Keats and Mahwash Fatima. They wanted to create a platform where Muslim business women could come together to network, mentor, and share their ideas and experiences.

Jessica is a registered yoga teacher. She owns her own small business which specializes in using gentle therapeutic movement to help people move, breathe, live and feel better. Mahwash is a business graduate from the University of Ottawa, column writer with the Muslim Link’s Mompreneur Series, an eBay power seller, and owner of two online stores: Maham’s Boutique and The Makeup Store.ca.

What once began as an idea became a reality when MWBN launched its Facebook page and invited Muslim women business owners from Ottawa to join the group. With continuous sharing of Facebook posts by fans and the administrators, the page acquired 165 fans in less than two months. The fan base continues to grow day by day.

.

The Facebook page consists of a business directory album which is updated every Monday. Muslim women-owned businesses are encouraged to send in their logos or a photograph which is then included in the business directory album. Weekly promotions and important business-related announcements are also included in the “Promotions and Sales” album every Tuesday.

In addition, vendor opportunities at local events ad business-related articles and news are posted on a regular basis. The Facebook page is turning into the go-to source for everything that a Muslim woman might need to start, run, or expand her business in Ottawa.

But in order to bring this virtual community into the real world, Jessica and Mahwash decided to organize the first in a planned series of networking events.

According to Jessica, the idea behind this event was “to bring like-minded Muslim women together to support and build a greater sense of community”. She said that they want to keep these events small and intimate with no more than forty business women at a time. Keeping the groups small will allow women to build more meaningful relationships with each other.

The best part of their April event, according to Mahwash, was that “all women were extremely comfortable and began networking almost immediately. You could feel the excitement in the air the entire time”.

Hodan Ibrahim of FWD MVMNT, a digital marketing and design agency, found the event to be “incredibly inspiring. Everyone was genuinely interested in getting to (know) you and your business. The atmosphere was lovely and the venue was great”.

.

Farhia Ahmed thought the event was “cool”. “[It] was a breath of fresh air. It was uplifting, motivating and inspiring to see such talent among my sisters in the community. Almost every type of product and service was represented - health and beauty, professional services like legal and accounting, career and personal coaching, food, cleaning. The ladies were doctors, lawyers, engineers, bakers, designers, writers and artists,” she explained.

Another attendee, Amal Elfarou, regional VP of Arbonne International, a skin care product business, thought that “having the monthly networking lunch will allow many doors to open for all of us.”

For Rabiya Khan, owner of Miss Cupcakes, was able to generate business leads. “I got to meet many young and experienced entrepreneurs whom I did not know before. It felt nice to be part of a new initiative that can help the community along with building new relationships.

The venue for this unique event was at a local restaurant Tandoori Fusion which is owned and run by a Muslim business woman, Feroza Shamim.

Berak Hussain of Hela Celebrations, a wedding décor and photography business, volunteered as the event photographer.

.

MWBN of Ottawa believes that business is about building relationships and hopes to create a platform where any Muslim woman who is interested in starting a business can come to for information. MWBN of Ottawa also plans to create seminars to help Ottawa Muslim women run sustainable businesses in Ottawa.

For more information and to know about future Muslim Women’s Business Network of Ottawa events, visit their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/mwbnottawa.

To learn more about Yoga with Jessica visit www.facebook.com/YogaWithJessica.ca

To learn more about Maham’s Boutique visit www.facebook.com/MahamsBoutique

To learn more about FWD MVMNT visit http://FWD-MVMNT.COM

.

To learn more about Arbonne visit http://amalelfarou.myarbonne.ca/

To learn more about Miss Cupcakes visit: www.facebook.com/misscupcakes.ca

To learn more about Tandoori Fusion visit www.tandoorifusion.com

To learn more about Hela Celebrations visit http://helacelebrations.com/main.html ■

M. Fatima owns Maham’s Boutique and co-founded the Muslim Women’s Business Network of Ottawa.

.

This article was produced exclusively for Muslim Link and should not be copied without prior permission from the site. For permission, please write to info@muslimlink.ca.

Read 12043 times Last modified on Tue, 27 May 2014 01:29
Rate this item
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
(0 votes)
Tagged under
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Muslim Women & Entrepreneurship
  • Muslim Women Business Owners
  • Muslim Women
  • Mahwash Fatima
  • Jessica Keats
  • Tandoori Fusion
  • Hodan Ibrahim
  • Farhia Ahmed
  • Berak Hussain
Mahwash Fatima

Mahwash Fatima

Mahwash Fatima is a business graduate from the University of Ottawa, an eBay power seller and the owner of two online stores: The Makeup Store.ca and Maham's Boutique. She is also the co-founder of the Muslim Women's Business Network of Ottawa.

Latest from Mahwash Fatima

  • Al Nisa – Making Challenges Work for Your Business Al Nisa – Making Challenges Work for Your Business
  • Grand-Mompreneur: Entrepreneurship at 60 Grand-Mompreneur: Entrepreneurship at 60
  • From “Halal Cakes” to “Cake Fantasies" From “Halal Cakes” to “Cake Fantasies"

Related items

  • Maliha Jabeen Khan What do you assume about the hijab? at TEDxRegina 2024 Maliha Jabeen Khan What do you assume about the hijab? at TEDxRegina 2024
  • Muslim Women Receive Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100 Award Muslim Women Receive Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100 Award
  • 2022 Richmond Hill Women of Inspiration and Leadership Award Winner: Fatima Sumar-Molu 2022 Richmond Hill Women of Inspiration and Leadership Award Winner: Fatima Sumar-Molu
back to top
.
.
.
.
.

Subscribe to Mailing List

Sign up for our free Muslim Link Snapshot and get our events listing and latest articles sent to your inbox weekly.

Please enter a name
Please enter a valid email address
Please enter a city

Ottawa Events
View More Events
Assunnah Muslim Association Eid Al Adha Festival
Fri, Jun 06, 2025 02:00pm EST/EDT
Festivals
Ottawa Eagles Wrestling SUMMER Program - 16+ Grappling Program
Sat, Jun 07, 2025 all day
Courses
Online Event
Muslim Legal Support Centre (MLSC) Workplace Harassment: How to Recognize and Report It
Tue, Jun 10, 2025 06:00pm EST/EDT
Educational
Jami Omar Resume Mastering: Writing Resumes that Pass ATS
Wed, Jun 11, 2025 06:30pm EST/EDT
Educational
Centre islamique de l'Outaouais Eid Al Adha Festival
Sat, Jun 14, 2025 03:00pm EST/EDT
Festivals

Featured Articles

  • Calgary Eid al Adha Prayer Locations 2025 Calgary Eid al Adha Prayer Locations 2025
  • Greater Toronto Area Eid al Adha Prayer Locations 2025 Greater Toronto Area Eid al Adha Prayer Locations 2025
  • Ottawa Gatineau Eid al Adha Prayer Locations 2025 Ottawa Gatineau Eid al Adha Prayer Locations 2025

About us

  • About Muslim Link
    Our Team
    About Eye Media
    Contact Us
    Diversity & Inclusion Policy
  • Events & Directory Disclaimer
  • Project: A Muslim History of Ottawa

How To

  • How to Advertise on Muslim Link?
    How to View / Edit Your Advertisement Campaign?
    How to Add a Directory Listing on the Directory?
    How to Claim a Directory Listing?
    How to Add an Event?
    How to Add an Opportunity?
    How to Add a Rental Listing?

Event Listings

  •  - Ottawa
  •  - Toronto GTA
  •  - Montreal
  •  - Edmonton
  •  - Calgary
  •  - Vancouver
  •  - London
  •  - Windsor
  •  - Hamilton
  •  - Kitchener/Waterloo
  •  - Halifax
  •  - Winnipeg
  •  - Kingston
  •  - Regina/Saskatoon

Business & Community Directory

  •  - Ottawa
  •  - Toronto GTA
  •  - Montreal
  •  - Edmonton
  •  - Calgary
  •  - Vancouver
  •  - London
  •  - Windsor
  •  - Hamilton
  •  - Kitchener/Waterloo
  •  - Halifax
  •  - Winnipeg
  •  - Kingston
  •  - Regina/Saskatoon

Advertisers

  • Advertise Online
  • Become a Patron
  • Sponsorships
  • Join Snapshot e-Newsletter
  • Snapshot Publishing Dates

ML Team

  • Writers Workshops
  • Content Policy
  • Staff Payment System
  • Join the team

Social Media

Follow us on our pages!

Facebook Twitter Youtube LinkedIn Pinterest

Copyright © 2025 Muslim Link. All Rights Reserved. All articles, photos, graphics and images on this site remain the copyright of Muslim Link, unless otherwise noted, and should not be copied without prior permission. Designed by Eye Media Solutions
Top
Copyright © Muslim Link. All articles, photos, graphics and images on this site remain the copyright of Muslim Link, unless otherwise noted, and should not be copied without prior permission. 2025 All rights reserved. Custom Design by Youjoomla.com