This story is part of our Inno on the Road series, looking at the tech and startup scene in Minneapolis-St.Paul, Minn. You can see all Twin Cities tech stories here, and other Inno on the Road series here.
When Fatimah Hussein noticed that girls weren't taking advantage of open gym at her Minneapolis community center, she succeeded in securing two weekly sessions of girls-only gym time, which quickly grew popular among young Muslim girls in the Twin Cities. But there was another challenge yet to be tackled: Their hijabs, headscarves worn for modesty, were heavy, cumbersome, really sweaty, and got in the way of running up and down the court.
Hussein wondered if there was a way to design modest sportswear, such as hijabs and long-sleeved uniforms made with flexible, lightweight material more suited for physical activity. She connected with marketer and University of Minnesota MBA student Jamie Glover, and the idea clicked.
"Here in Minnesota where we have the largest Somali population in the country, you don’t see many Muslim girls wearing hijabs playing sports," said Glover. "We could work together to break down the clothing barrier and...make ways for these girls to participate."
Their collaboration led to Asiya, a line of pull-on hijabs made of lightweight, breathable material that allow Muslim girls and women who wear the hijab to comfortably play sports while maintaining their modesty. Their venture caught on: Asiya just wrapped up a Kickstarter that raised $38,000 (blasting past their $25,000 goal), and won the social entrepreneur track at this year's MN Cup, the state's premier startup competition. Now the cofounders are looking to bring their mission beyond Minnesota, with plans to eventually expand to other modest sportswear clothing while growing a global team of Asiya ambassadors to promote the importance of girls in sports worldwide.
Asiya's hijabs are made with a lightweight, breathable, sweat-wicking fabric, with a built in headband that keeps the hijab secure without the use of safety pins. The sport hijabs come in three styles, depending on a girls' desired coverage, four different colors and the option to customize colors and patterns to match team colors. Hijabs will retail for $35 each, and are available for pre-order on their Indiegogo OnDemand page (they'll ship in February).
Asiya has over 300 preorders just from the Kickstarter. As part of their crowdfunding campaign, they offered the option to sponsor an athlete, and they'll be donating additional hijabs by partnering with community centers and nonprofits. In the future, they plan to sell additional modest sportswear, such as uniforms designed with long sleeves and pants.
While the project has roots in Minnesota, where there's a large Somali population, Glover and Hussein noted that 10 percent of the preorders were international. This January, they're launching an Asiya ambassadors program, where they'll choose local leaders to represent the brand and promote sports, across the US and overseas. "It’s very important that this brand is for Muslim girls all over, not just East African or Somali," said Hussein, who's Somali.
While there are other startups in the space, such as Netherlands-based Capsters and Botswana-based Friniggi, Asiya is the prominent player in the US.
Glover and Hussein are passionate about the benefit of sports to the development of self confidence among young women: Glover played college volleyball, and Hussein, who's a social worker, is also the founder of G.I.R.L.S.(Girls In Recreation and Leisurely Sport), which offers culturally appropriate athletic programming for girls in Minneapolis' Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.
While this year several hijabi athletes have gained international recognition for their athletic achievement, such as Olympian fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad and marathoner Rahaf Khatib, it's also been a year of hateful rhetoric against Muslims by conservative political leaders. Glover and Hussein said this motivates them even more to showcase the community that sports creates.
"Whether you’re Muslim, Christian or Catholic you have one mission, and the mission is to win," said Hussein. "When girls are feeling comfortable and they’re a part of that, sports bring everyone together."
