{"id":56039,"date":"2019-04-30T15:52:52","date_gmt":"2019-04-30T19:52:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=56039"},"modified":"2025-09-30T11:20:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T15:20:10","slug":"women-led-startups","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/women-led-startups\/","title":{"rendered":"Supporting Women-Led Startups Internationally"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n\n \n \n \n \n
\n\n
<\/div>\n \n
\n
\n\n

\n Supporting Women-Led Startups Internationally\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

When Ottawa\u2019s Sarah Abood tore her anterior cruciate ligament playing intramural university soccer, the former provincial-level club player switched her focus to fitness and became a personal trainer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When one of her clients didn\u2019t want to work out in the gym because she couldn\u2019t find a comfortable hijab, Abood \u2014 who had always wanted to make active wear, and whose parents owned a clothing business when she was growing up \u2014 started developing a line of sports hijabs and turbans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she and business partner Sami Dabliz launched Thawrih<\/a> in October 2017 and sales began to pick up, she hired refugees from Syria \u2014 whom she had met through her non-profit, Capital Welcomes \u2014 to make the clothing in their homes for $25 to $30 an hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Scaling
Sarah Abood and the sports hijab by Thawrih.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And when somebody suggested that she look into the Canada-India Acceleration Program<\/a> (CIAP) \u2014 which Carleton University\u2019s Canada-India Centre for Excellence<\/a> established to help women-led startups from Canada expand into the Indian market and vice versa \u2014 she submitted an application despite being incredibly busy already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInitially, I saw an opportunity to help one of my clients, and then expanded,\u201d says Abood, who participated in a one-week CIAP \u201cscale camp\u201d at the Bayview Yards<\/a> innovation centre last fall, then travelled to India in December to line up fabric suppliers, ethical manufacturers and sales and distribution channels for her products, all of which she\u2019s hoping to support through $200,000 in seed funding from the program.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a triple-bottom-line business and it\u2019s hard to scale and grow while incorporating all of our values,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cBut our core beliefs are not something we could let go of, so we needed to find the right fit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Scaling<\/figure>\n\n\n

Helping Women-Led Startups Expand to International Markets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stars seem to have aligned for Thawrih (an Arabic word for \u201crevolutionary\u201d), which is currently going through a due diligence process with NRI Startup Canada<\/a>, the CIAP\u2019s investment partner. But the company\u2019s success started with Abood\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her first prototype was a sports hijab, made locally \u2014 so she could remain hands-on \u2014 using a breathable, quick-dry antimicrobial material and not adorned with a corporate logo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then a Sikh friend suggested a sports turban, so Abood created one, giving it to people to test with workouts and washing, as well as conducting focus groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She used Instagram influencers<\/a> to market her products online \u2014 more than 1,000 units have moved to date in 23 countries around the world, from South Africa and New Zealand to Europe and the Middle East. She is also working with law enforcement agencies, including the Ottawa Police Service, the Canadian Coast Guard and a county sheriff\u2019s department in Massachusetts, to develop a hijab that\u2019s safe for first responders, with magnets as the neck clasp to eliminate the risk of choking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Scaling<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

India wasn\u2019t on her radar until she heard about CIAP, which introduced her to the country\u2019s national retail association, suppliers, consumer groups and local economic experts during nearly two weeks in Mumbai. Now, with leggings made from recycled material set to join her line of hijabs, turbans and patka (a \u201cquick-fix\u201d turban often worn by children), Thawrih is poised on the cusp of major growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of the company\u2019s insistence on ethical manufacturing, its price point is higher than clothing made in China and other traditional textile hubs (an average of $30 for headgear, and up to $80 for leggings). But Abood is optimistic that by making and marketing products in India in a sustainable and viable way, she will be able to gain access to that country\u2019s massive Sikh market and Muslim communities throughout the Middle East and Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n

\u201cThe east generally follows the west, and fitness is on the brink of getting huge there,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cWith the connections that we now have in India and our knowledge of the Indian market, we\u2019re ready to set up there \u2014 and do it our way \u2014 and see where things can go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFemale entrepreneurs are often disregarded because we\u2019re seen as not being aggressive enough in business. Any program that helps us gain a foothold is very helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Scaling<\/figure>\n\n\n