Asala Jumaa'
The first step to a creative crochet maker
Every project in the world faces challenges and difficulties on the path to success and growth. However, in Palestine, these challenges are unique and distinct. They extend beyond a lack of knowledge or weak management and planning to include economic and security conditions that can shift or deteriorate at any moment. This is what most Palestinian projects encountered during the past year. Here lies the role of supportive institutions that stand by female entrepreneurs, striving to save and develop their projects despite limited resources and unpredictable circumstances.
Ibtikar is more than just an organization supporting female entrepreneurs; it is a hub and incubator that connects these women with the community and supportive institutions. Through this project, Ibtikar sought to empower women and enhance their diverse skills to help them advance their businesses, even amid the challenging conditions we currently face.
Through the "Young Business Coaches" program, Ibtikar provided training for youth interested in entrepreneurship and gave them the opportunity to work with female entrepreneurs to develop their projects through a structured and comprehensive program, ensuring benefits on all levels.
"Boshra Crochet" was one of the projects I worked with. It’s a small, budding venture led by a highly talented woman skilled in crafting unique crochet products. However, she needed guidance in several areas. While her products were beautiful and distinctive, she relied solely on her personal taste without considering market needs. Additionally, she lacked knowledge in digital marketing and needed a well-studied plan for pricing and publishing her work.
Initially, we worked on studying the market and competitors to identify high-demand products that require less time and effort. She was guided to create new products that better meet customer needs. We also focused on improving her digital marketing skills. This aspect particularly excited me since marketing is my favorite area—I love working with images, colors, and all things creative because I also draw and enjoy art. I suggested ways to present her products more attractively to capture attention and engage potential customers.
Despite my passion for this aspect, I relied on the valuable information provided by our trainer about marketing strategies, advertising, and social media algorithms. This served as a solid reference, enabling me to provide accurate and helpful insights for her to utilize when sharing any project-related content.
We always aimed to keep our meetings lighthearted and enjoyable, avoiding rigidity and excessive formality, whether in person or online. We addressed issues, discussed them together, and worked to resolve them in the best possible ways. What truly helped me organize topics and structure them in a way that met the project’s needs was the support of the Ibtikar team, who monitored my progress with the project and provided a clear framework of the areas we needed to work on.
One of the most important personal lessons I gained from these sessions is that every female entrepreneur has her unique touch, which a mentor must respect and allow to flourish. This individuality is what keeps her motivated, helps her progress, and sets her apart from other projects. I also learned that having someone to provide feedback, guidance, and support significantly contributes to the project's development, saving a great deal of time and effort.
This is exactly what I noticed in Boshra. She has countless ideas and creativity but needed someone to encourage and guide her to channel these ideas effectively for her project’s benefit.
During the training, Boshra managed to direct her efforts toward more distinctive products and benefited from the experiences of other local crochet artisans. She also learned to price her products appropriately, considering the time, effort, costs, and customers’ purchasing power. In terms of social media and online marketing, she gained a better understanding of platform algorithms. She chose to focus on her Instagram page while not neglecting other platforms, improving her social media presence significantly. Although she still needs to make ongoing adjustments to meet the audience's evolving needs, the progress she has achieved so far is satisfactory. I believe her project has taken its first steps, and with continued effort and persistence, she can accomplish much more.
As for Boshra, she feels she has achieved what she aspired to in this program. She stated, "Joining this program has been a great motivator and supporter for me to move forward and continue developing my project. With my coach, who I rarely take a step without consulting, and her advice on every detail, big or small, my project has advanced to a new phase. I’ve learned marketing, pricing, and acquiring project supplies. I believe that with a little more time and effort, my project will reach higher and broader stages."
If I were to give my opinion on the "Young Business Coaches" program, I would say it is phenomenally successful. Through the Ibtikar team, our mentoring skills improved significantly because the program not only focused on presenting information and discussing it but also on developing mentors' personalities and better preparing them to support projects. Moreover, having the Ibtikar team consistently beside the coaches, listening to different perspectives, and allowing for feedback improved and refined the training courses.
I believe this program should be expanded to include larger segments of society. Ibtikar’s vision should reach younger generations, such as teenagers and school students, to build a new generation eager to innovate and create in various fields.
My experience with Ibtikar was unique and marked a major turning point in my personality and knowledge of entrepreneurship. Initially, my knowledge of entrepreneurship and business was limited to simple insights gained from personal experience, reading books, or watching related videos. I often wondered if this information was reliable or applicable. However, after attending Ibtikar’s training sessions, led by a team of experienced trainers in their fields, my understanding expanded significantly. I now have a solid foundation of knowledge and skills I can use to benefit myself and others.
The ongoing support and guidance provided by Ibtikar during the training period were sufficient to address any gaps in information directly, ensuring maximum benefit for the female entrepreneurs.
In conclusion, I can only express my deep gratitude to Ibtikar for giving me the opportunity to explore new aspects of myself that I had not realized before. I discovered a powerful desire to learn, research, and share knowledge more effectively with others. I also realized that entrepreneurship is a fast-paced yet beautiful world. For anyone seeking growth, success is attainable with commitment and effort.
The knowledge and training I gained also helped me develop my project and strengthened my resolve not to give up on my dream of expanding, innovating, and creating. Ibtikar proved to be more than just an organization—it is a beautiful and inspiring space that brings together youth and female entrepreneurs to exchange experiences and ideas, as well as build strong and meaningful friendships.
The people I met at Ibtikar, despite their differences, each left a profound impact on me. I am incredibly happy to have been part of Ibtikar throughout this past period, and I will never forget all that I have learned. I hope this institution continues to progress and thrive because it is driven by a remarkable team committed to excellence and creativity.