Zamiha Desai was born in London to Firoz and Farida Manji, who had come from East Africa and settled in the UK in 1971. She refers to herself as an "accidental entrepreneur", after starting an online community for fun, she made her passion her job, despite all the nay-sayers!
In her mid-forties, she started a Facebook Group, RecommendAsian, in April 2016. It had 219 Asian Female members, sharing ideas, tips and recommendations.
Today the women’s group has over 70,000 members, and the sister group,
ProfessionalAsian (for both men & women), has 80,000 members. Both groups are focussed on Asian lifestyles and are affectionately referred to as “the Asian Google”, as you can find advice, products, services, gifts, foods – everything one needs that suit the way we live, all provided by small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Questions:
Which place, or city or country do you most feel at home in?
I feel at home with my family - home to me isn't a place or a location, it's a state of being!
What are your proudest achievements?
Bringing our on-line communities into the real world is special. We hold the Hey Gorgeous event – featuring small businesses from ProfessionalAsian. Our members get to see, the amazing products and meet the business owners – it’s my favourite event and the last one in 2019 had 105 businesses and 7,000 visitors!
What inspires you?
My members inspire me – and I am blessed to be inspired every day. By stories of bravery, journeys dealing with cancer, women reclaiming their lives after abuse, children learning their mother-tongue, businesses exceeding expectations – the list is endless of simply amazing women and men who are just like you and me.
What has been biggest obstacle in your career?
In all honesty I think I have been my own biggest obstacle – as with many entrepreneurs, I took a lot of time second guessing myself, listening to people that didn’t know what they were talking about, self-doubt, imposter syndrome. It took a long time to become more confident.
Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?
Without a doubt, my husband, Sham. He believed in me – even when I didn’t always believe in myself. He supported me when I wasn’t making any money, he encouraged me when I had doubts. And Sham and my dad – when I see their work ethic, I am always inspired.
What is the best aspect about your current role?
That I get to do something I love daily and help people to help each other – whether it’s the advice they have received or the difference it has made to their business. I get to help people every day and I love it!
And the worst?
I have an incredible admin team – but we all work remotely and at different times. I wish that we were all together more as I think together, we can make things even more special and have a greater impact. It’s frustrating as I know how much more we could do!
What are your long-term goals?
To create a more dynamic place for entrepreneurs to flourish, to dispel taboos in our Asian society, to empower women to get access to help they need and to keep loving what we do.
If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?
Equality for all, gender, sexuality, race, religion in terms of pay, representation, anti-discrimination, access to education, opportunities - the list goes on. We have a beautiful, vibrant multicultural country that should be celebrated and appreciated by everyone.
If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why?
Having been reading some literature lately as an Ismaili Muslim, I would say Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah, Aga Khan III; the foresight in his speeches is amazing, his wisdom unprecedented and his ideologies from back then are being talked about by current thought leaders! He was incredible.
