Building Futures: Somali Entrepreneurship Across the Diaspora

The Rise of Somali Entrepreneurship As part of Somali Week Festival 2026 and this year’s theme, Making Home, Kayd Somali Arts & Culture presents an evening exploring how Somali entrepreneurs are building businesses, creating opportunities and strengthening communities across the diaspora and back home. Bringing together voices from technology, community-building, hospitality, fashion, hair and beauty, the panel will share honest experiences of starting and growing a business. The conversation will explore the importance of mentorship and professional networks, the challenges founders face, and how entrepreneurs can balance ambition with family, wellbeing and wider responsibilities. The panel features Jibril Qorane and Guleed Afhakame, co-founders of The Somali Circle, a community connecting and supporting Somali entrepreneurs. Their work includes The Goat Herders, a pitch competition inspired by Somali traditions of trade and negotiation, which gives founders opportunities to present their ideas and connect with investors, mentors and collaborators. They will be joined by Liban Ibrahim, owner of Somali restaurant Sabib’s, Hinda Ismail, an entrepreneur working in the hair and beauty sector, Hussein Suleiman is a co-founder of Daily Paper, the Amsterdam-based fashion label that has grown into a global brand celebrated for its authentic storytelling and cultural impact, and the founder of Rayie Musk, Zubair Hassan. Together, they will discuss how cultural knowledge, innovation and collective support can help the next generation of Somali businesses grow. Chaired by Samira Musa, the discussion will be followed by an audience Q&A. Jibril Qorane is a mechanical engineer, entrepreneur and co-founder of The Somali Circle, a global community supporting Somali entrepreneurs, founders and professionals. Alongside his engineering career, Jibril has helped build a tutoring business in the Netherlands and brings a strong interest in systems, productivity and the practical use of artificial intelligence. Through The Somali Circle, he creates opportunities for Somali founders to access knowledge, mentorship and meaningful professional networks, while encouraging greater collaboration between entrepreneurs across the diaspora and back home. Guleed Afhakame is a marketing entrepreneur and co-founder of The Somali Circle. He is also the founder of Tribe Leaders, a marketing agency that helps purpose-led organisations build engaged communities around their work. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Guleed worked at Mindshare Netherlands on campaigns for international brands including Nike, Unilever and Volvo. Through The Somali Circle, he works to connect Somali founders with mentors, collaborators and investors, while creating spaces in which entrepreneurship, cultural identity and community development can grow together. Liban Ibrahim is the founder and co-owner of Sabiib, a contemporary Somali restaurant created to introduce Somali food and hospitality to a wider audience. Inspired by the large, welcoming Somali restaurants he encountered during a visit to Nairobi, Liban opened Sabiib’s first restaurant in Acton in 2023. The restaurant combines traditional Somali food with a modern setting influenced by the architecture and visual culture of Mogadishu. Sabiib has since expanded to a second London location and continues to celebrate Somali cuisine, community and the tradition of martiqaad, the generous welcoming of guests. Hinda Ismail is a Somali beautician, product developer and the founder of Hinda Hair and Skin Wellness. She established the business in 2006, drawing on traditional East African beauty knowledge and her experience of caring for Black and Brown hair and skin. Hinda develops plant-based hair and skincare products designed to nurture natural beauty while responding to the specific needs of textured hair and diverse skin types. Her work brings together cultural heritage, entrepreneurship and contemporary beauty practice, introducing generations of East African self-care knowledge to customers in the UK and internationally. Hussein Suleiman is a co-founder of Daily Paper, the Amsterdam-based fashion label that has grown into a global brand celebrated for its authentic storytelling and cultural impact. With over a decade of experience shaping contemporary fashion, Hussein has helped build a movement that bridges communities across Africa, Europe, and beyond. Zubair Hassan is the founder of Rayie Musk, a luxury fragrance house rooted in Somali heritage. Growing up in a British-Somali household where burning incense was part of daily life, he built the brand around that ritual, naming each scent in his collection after a Somali city. He spent the past building Rayie Musk into a direct-to-consumer brand before launching in March 2026 at rayiemusk.com, handling everything from scent development to brand storytelling and customer growth. He speaks on heritage-led branding, building a fragrance house from scratch, and what it takes to grow a DTC business in a crowded market. Host: Samira Musa is a British-Somali film and television producer whose work focuses on powerful, socially engaged and underrepresented stories. She has worked across film production, development and finance, with credits spanning BBC Films, Film4, The Royal Ballet and Rambert. Her work includes Aisha and Abhaya, the Film4 science-fiction anthology 4sight, Debbie Tucker Green’s Ear for Eye, and the British-Somali short film Fate. Through her creative practice, Samira is committed to uncovering, producing and preserving stories that reflect the complexity of contemporary communities and inspire future generations. Language: English