Mina is a woman of many talents, each reflecting a fascinating combination of creativity, determination and passion. Her story is a journey through different life experiences, from her family roots to the challenges and opportunities she encountered along the way.
It all begins with the inspiration of her father, a merchant who passed on her love of entrepreneurship with his skill in trading. Growing up in an environment that values hard work and determination, Mina learns the core values that will guide her in her future ventures.
Mina’s educational background further helps shape her worldview. She attends an art high school in Italy for four years, where she nurtures her creativity and aesthetic sense. Here, she discovers the pleasure of creating unique bags and clothes inspired by Moroccan fashion, a style difficult to find in Italy.
In parallel, Mina discovers her passion for sweets. Noticing the shortage of Moroccan products and halal options in Italy, she realizes how much this shortage affects many people from North Africa, who often have to go without proper clothes and tasty halal sweets.
This awareness takes shape when she participates in the PLOUTOS Business Lab, a business accelerator program. Initially involved in the business language and financial literacy courses thanks to a friend’s recommendation, Mina decides to enroll in the Business Lab as well, attracted by the entrepreneurial themes and the expertise of the facilitators. There, she discovers a world of opportunity and inspiration, learning how to express her ideas with confidence, present them convincingly, and exchange knowledge and experience with other participants.
Mina’s passion and commitment soon attract the attention of others, who appreciate not only the taste of her sweets, but also the cultural and personal significance they represent, especially for those from Muslim countries. Together with them, the idea of a halal tea room in Palermo was born. Thus, Mina and the other people participating turn a personal need of theirs into an entrepreneurial opportunity, using the project as a case study to learn the different stages of starting and running a business.
Recently, Mina moved to northern Italy, where she is rebuilding her network and finding her balance. Her passions for halal sweets and Moroccan fashion remain alive and, who knows, maybe one day her tea room dream will come true. We wish her well and wish her a big “Best of luck!” for her next adventures.
About PLOUTOS
PLOUTOS – cooPeration for achieving third country nationaLs’ financial independence thrOUgh financial liTeracy tOols and entrepreunerShip bootcamps is a project funded by AMIF (DG Home Affairs – Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund) program of the European Union.
Partners
- Halmstad University (Sweden, coordinator)
- Innovation Hive (Greece)
- Aristotle University (Greece)
- SquareDev (Greece)
- Future Needs (Cyprus)
- European Microfinance Network (Belgium)
- Sofia Development Association (Bulgaria)
- Centre for peace, nonviolence and Human Rights (Croatia)
- Breza (Croatia)
- ABI Lab (Italy)
- CESIE (Italy)
For further information
Read more about PLOUTOS, visit the website of the project and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.
Contact Paula Luise Goltzsche: paula.goltzsche@cesie.org.
