Founder | Entrepreneur
My name is Fatma Swaleh Daakik, 28 years old. I am a Muslim lady, first born in a family of 10 siblings, a mother of one daughter. Born and raised in Mombasa, Kenya. I am an alumni of St. Kevin Primary School, I finished my primary level in 2009 with a total mark of 276. Later joined Coast Girls High School in 2010 and finished in 2013 with a mean grade of a C plain. While studying in the 844 Kenyan Education System, I also pursued my Islamic Studies at Madrassatul Munawwarah Al Islamiya and finished in 2014 with a good (Jayed ) level. In 2014 I received an award for being the best student in Arabic at my former high school. In 2015 I went ahead to pursue a Certificate in Islamic Banking and Finance at Zanzibar University and finished in 2016 with a First Class Honor. I completed my Bachelor’s degree of Islamic Banking and Finance at Zanzibar University in 2019 with a First Class Honors. On 18th December 2019, I received an award in recognition of keeping excellent academic performance re: Bachelor of Islamic Banking and Finance. I am passionate about Islamic Finance and Islamic Law in order to expand my knowledge and career. Currently, I am an Assistant Administrator at Imperial Education Consultants. I am also an entrepreneur, founder of Fattoum Collection; established on 24th February 2020. It is an online business and all items are on pre-order basis. I started with household items, way before I had 200 followers on my Instagram page. I do post on my Instagram feed, story and WhatsApp status where I have 100 contacts. I thank the Almighty and to all my first clients who gave me the opportunity. I truly appreciate their trust, love and for patronizing my small business journey. I had a few ups and downs, but I believed in Allah, prayed and worked hard knowing that one day I will definitely accomplish my set goals. I never lost hope. Indeed! Allah is the Giver, Most Gracious and Most Merciful. Fattoum Collection grew and currently is an online and home based business located in Tudor Mombasa, Kenya. It has expanded to a collection of perfumes for both genders, Arabic and English scents, household items, incense burners, bedsheets, beauty items, handbags, abayas and many more. We deliver our products all over East Africa that are within Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda at an affordable fee. I still believe by Allah’s blessing we will grow bit by bit hence to be able to deliver our products worldwide. I thank Allah, it's 2 years and 6 months now down the line, indeed it wasn’t an easy journey but I would love to give all my gratitude to my supporters. May God bless you all. Amiin. On 6th March 2021, I was invited by Saa Events and was honored to be among the panelists. It was my first networking event I have ever attended that had to do with Business Women. I was so nervous as it was my first time being a speaker. I believe events are there to bring great minds together and also to meet amazing mentors, learn more from their experiences and get inspired. On 8th March 2022, I received an award of excellence under the category of retail at the Muslim Women in Business Awards and recognized by The Muslim Media.
What are the biggest initial hurdles and how did you overcome them? The year 2020 was a tough year. My biggest challenge I faced was, starting my small business with no capital while unemployed. Winning a customer’s trust wasn't easy, since it was an online business and the items were on pre-order basis, most of the clients were really worried about paying for the products and waiting for 1 week in order to get it. Most of the purchasers know that there are scammers who use social media platforms in the name of a business to con clients. But Allah is great! Through good communication skills, loyalty and honesty made me win customer’s trust. I remember I used to download most of the images of the products directly from google so that I post them on my social media platforms since I had no items on hand, it was a huge challenge to convince my clients; because my clients were not sure if they were going to get exact item as seen on the photo. As time went by, I learnt what were the most loved items and being in a huge demand in the market so from the profit I made and the financial support I got from my lovely family, I managed to purchase a few goods and created a cute photo booth for capturing good pictures of the products, hence it helped me to gain more clients since the products’ images were real. So far Alhamdulillah, thanks to my parents and family, I am very grateful for who I am today, what I have achieved and I am looking forward to achieving all the goals I have ahead of me. I believe as days go by, my lovely daughter will be proud of me. Advice to an upcoming youth or talents locally and internationally? The best advice I can give is to understand yourself, know what you want to do, who you want to be, set your goals, develop patience and move forward in faith. Always put prayers first before anything else, believe you are a better person and believe you can do it. Nothing comes easy, the harder you work for something, the greater you will feel when you achieve it. DON’T GIVE UP! Social Media Handles: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fattoum_coll3ction/ WhatsApp: https://chat.whatsapp.com/FIG1BURxQ6xA6HjMpNlIle LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fatma-daakik-258b19192