Talha Saifi, Mohtamim Ishaat, MKA USA
On 18 December 2021, Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya USA held an Ahmadiyya Conference for Entrepreneurs (ACE).
The event gave guidance on how to think about starting a business, the respective entrepreneurial journeys of the speakers, the importance of Khilafat and the Jamaat in each individual’s start-up journey and a live pitch event where viewers were able to hear one of our younger entrepreneurs pitching seasoned venture capitalists.
Naib Sadr MKA USA, Ousman Mbowe Sahib spoke about the department of Sanat-o-Tijarat (Trade and Industry). He spoke about how income inequality is an increasing threat and how Ahmadi Muslims are held to a higher standard.
Mohtamim Sanat-o-Tijarat, Imran Ahmad Sahib encouraged everyone to think beyond “lifestyle” businesses and to think of how to truly scale and make an incredibly large business with an outsized impact. He spoke about the increasing number of new start-ups and the funding and investing environment. This included macro-economic trends impacting the world of start-ups and various industry trends that are leading to more innovation including artificial intelligence, NFTs, digital health, etc.
Adeel Malik Sahib delivered a speech regarding making the leap to starting a tech company.
After this, Mujeeb Ijaz Sahib gave a faith-inspiring talk about how he followed Hazrat Amirul Momineen’saa guidance to launch his business O.N.E (Our Next Energy). It was especially valuable to hear how his faith in Allah and the guidance of Khilafat helped inspire every decision he has made with his business.
Hamad Saeed Sahib discussed how to scale a business and the ingredients of a business built to scale beyond a lifestyle business. He reflected on the ACE conference from 2001 that helped inspire him, and then he spent some time talking about what it takes to grow a business: team, capital, product-market fit, constant innovation and most importantly, prayers.
The final talk was delivered by Ayaz ul Haque Sahib, a venture capitalist, who spoke about what he looks for in start-up pitches. Tahir Warraich Sahib and Mirza Tahir Ahmad Sahib pitched their new start-up, JobAnyDay, live in front of the entire audience while hearing the various questions that Ayaz Sahib asked the aspiring entrepreneurs.
The event concluded with silent prayer and remarks by Mohtamim Sanat-o-Tijarat, Imran Ahmad Sahib.
By the grace of Allah, the event had over 400 registrants and was attended by 540 total viewers online.