Chennai

To support talented women entrepreneurs from the Dawoodi Bohra community in the city, Tasneem Akbari-Kutubuddin started a group called the Bohra Women Entrepreneurs group. “There are many women entrepreneurs in my community who support their families in their way. Each one is uniquely talented and I wanted to bring all of them together under one roof — so that there will be a better collaboration of Dawoodi Bohra women from across the globe. When I started the forum, my idea was to support women in business. Over the years, the forum has grown and now, there are more than 8,000 women in the community. Women in the group sell various homemade products including cosmetics, soaps, clothes, jewellery, clothes, baked good, etc that are unique to the Dawoodi Bohra community. Though there is a huge demand, certain things that are unique to the community are not easily available in the city and this forum helps Bohra women procure it easily. I wanted the women to do business independently,” says Tasneem.

Rida is a trademark garment of Bohra women and the attire is usually exported from places like Mumbai or Surat. Tasneem knows designer Nafisa Adnan Siamwala, who makes beautiful ridas, and added her into the group. “I love designing and started designing my own clothes. So, when I got the opportunity to create ridas, I took it up. I have clients from all over the country. This forum is a great place to meet Dawoodi Bohra women entrepreneurs from around the world. We get to share the passion and support each other,” Nafisa, who also runs a boutique called Rajsons, tells DT Next.

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