Where I started
I'm a Muslim, British Pakistani woman from a working-class background, born and raised in East London, and I don't shy away from any part of that identity. I was the first girl in my family to go to university. At school I was the kid who was always involved in something extra: if I wasn't running the school council I was fundraising, and I always had a way of bringing people together.
I wasn't in the gifted and talented cohort, but I didn't need special attention either. It was only after I finished university that I discovered I had a glitch in my brain called dysgraphia. Years later, at 34, I was diagnosed with ADHD too. My honest reaction was "I'm not surprised." Both diagnoses explained a lot, and both shaped how I work now: I use AI every day as an accessibility tool, not just a productivity one.
Outside school I was always in community projects. As a teenager I sat on the board of the London Development Corporation, making sure young people's voices were part of the regeneration of East London after the 2012 Olympics. I volunteered at the Games themselves and became a trustee for the youth charity Spark+Mettle. Life has since taken me into rooms I could never have dreamed of being in.
The startup years
A pilot youth coaching programme led me to co-found Discoverables, a website helping young people find and develop their strengths. We raised £65k from Big Issue Invest and Wayra UnLtd, and that was the start of my startup education. The startup didn't work out, and I'm open about that, because what came next mattered more.
I moved to Makers Academy, a 12-week coding bootcamp, to head up marketing. I reduced customer acquisition cost, doubled website traffic, and managed partnerships with Amazon, ThoughtWorks and Digital Gurus. But the work I'm proudest of was helping achieve a 51% female cohort in an industry averaging 13%, creating a women in tech scholarship with ThoughtWorks, another specifically for refugees, and pushing for the unglamorous inclusion work: a paternity policy, non-alcoholic drinks at socials, a prayer space.
Muslamic Makers
In 2016 I set up Muslamic Makers with 50 people in a room. It came out of the experience of so often being the only Muslims in our industry. We wanted a safe space that was inclusive, booze-free and focused on bringing out the role models in our community.
Over ten years it grew into the UK's largest community for Muslim technologists: 3,000 members, more than 80 events, sponsorship from companies like Wise, ThoughtWorks and UsTwo, and a generation of founders who went on to raise millions. I retired it in 2026, and I always say the same thing about it: it was never my community, it was our community.
The fellowship that changed everything
In 2017 the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust awarded me a fellowship to research how we get more minorities and Muslims into technology. I never saw myself reflected back in the industry I worked in, so I went looking. I travelled through the USA, Pakistan and the UAE, visiting tech companies, universities, incubators and community organisations, and capturing the stories of Muslim women in technology on video.
That work became Inclusive Tech World, a collection of interviews, case studies and best practices that still shapes how I think about inclusion today.
Government
After the fellowship I went into government. At the Government Digital Service I ran a community of 1,500+ product and delivery managers across the UK Government, and helped start the Muslims at GDS community. I then led the No.10 Innovation Fellowship, a programme built with the Prime Minister's office to bring top digital and tech talent into government.
Investing
I became an angel investor through the Ada Ventures Angels programme, which backs investment at the grassroots for overlooked founders and markets. I wrote about my first months of angel investing if you want the honest version.
Now
Today I run two things. Muslim Tech Fest, which I co-founded with Zahid Mahmood, is the global conference showcasing Muslim talent in technology: four sold-out events, 2,000+ builders, London and San Francisco. AI Compass Labs is where I teach organisations to actually use AI, through bootcamps, multi-week programmes and custom builds.
I'm also a mother of two girls, a keynote speaker, a coach, and a content creator talking about the things I live: practical AI, community building, ADHD, and being a Muslim woman in tech. I was named one of Computer Weekly's Top 50 Influential Women in Tech in the UK.
I'm a proud multipotentialite, and whatever I do, I see it through the lens of community. I'm a collaborator who loves connecting unique ideas into one big vision, especially through micro actions.