
Zunaira Rafique: Business is my Business
These experiences have empowered me to create my own business to serve my local community
Zuniara, a 28-year-old resident of Bristol, embarked on a transformative journey with Bath Spa University’s Click Start digital skills booster programme in the summer of 2023. Armed with a background in teaching and a desire to expand her technological prowess, Zuniara joined Bath Spa’s Click Start course with the purpose of gaining the technical skills needed to actualise her entrepreneurial dreams.
“The Click Start by Bath Spa University programme gave me the confidence I needed to realise my ambitions through developing my IT skills and digital customer relationship management. These experiences have empowered me to create my own business to serve my local community here in Bristol.”
As a young Muslim woman in Bristol with English as her second language, Zuniara grappled with uncertainty on how to develop the confidence and skills necessary to manifest her business goals. Her limited exposure to computers furthered her nervousness about starting her own business.
Flexible learning can improve diversity“As English is my second language, I was unsure about the right way to gain the necessary digital skills to support my dream of creating my own clothing business, and all the additional insights I would need such as marketing and day-to-day website management.”
However, Zuniara’s journey with the Click Start programme was a catalyst for her digital confidence. Empowered by her experiences, she is now ambitious to utilise her newfound skills to establish a business catering to the needs of young individuals within her community. Motivated by a lack of options in the local area, which meanings traveling long distances to access preferred styles, Zuniara thinks her business will be invaluable for the Muslim community in Bristol and the South West.
“Living in Bristol, I noticed a lack of shops selling more modest clothing options for younger women in my community. This meant many of us had to travel over an hour to get to shops in Birmingham and I was determined to fix this.”
Zuniara’s story epitomises the resilience and determination to overcome barriers, paving the way for the realisation of entrepreneurial dreams and community empowerment.
Learn more about how the Bath Spa Click Start course could be right for you.
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