AISHA HASSAN 28

Co-founder, Dia Guild

For Aisha Hassan, her entrepreneurship journey at Dia Guild is purely serendipitous. As the pandemic ran its course, she and her two cofounders Kylie Francis and Alia Farouk rolled up their sleeves and banded together to champion slow fashion and lifestyle craftspeople across the region.

In this pursuit, she seeks to elevate the retail culture towards a more thoughtful one. This requires thought and care throughout the entire chain, from the artisans themselves to the customers. Aisha explains, “It’s about people appreciating the craftsmen and the time put into their work. It’s about making sure that the person who receives an item from Dia Guild will keep it and love it for years to come.”

Her life pre-Dia Guild consisted of tons and tons of writing, from fashion to tech, to even fiction. Now, she brings the curations to life with her prowess over letters. “If my lifelong ambitions were always to write and to build something, then, in a way, Dia Guild is the culmination of those pursuits,” she details.

Despite challenges that lay in their path, Aisha and her co-founders are steadfast in their mission to bring lovingly-made fashion and lifestyle products to people across the globe while simultaneously fairly compensating the tradesmen and craftsmen. “These people really do the work they do out of love for their craft. They deserve much more recognition, and this gives me purpose and motivation,” Aisha says.