2023-09-07 18:12:25
In addition to managing both stores, Nour is pursuing her dream of studying law. She spends every free minute in her shop learning.
Foto: Elena Heatherwick/IRC
Nour is a 25-year-old businesswoman in Lebanon. She is the owner of Trendy by Nour, a shop with a very specific goal: fashion and styling for people with hijabs.
Her father, then a government employee with a small salary, had always tried to build a house for his family and at the same time enable them to live a life in which they lacked nothing.
“My father could certainly have given us a better life with the money he used to build the house. But then I wouldn’t be able to run my shop without paying rent,” explains Nour.
Nour and her mother Nidal Al-Hajjar
Foto: Elena Heatherwick/IRC
Since both of her parents have given so much to their children, Nour is grateful that she can now give something back to them – now she can also care for her four-year-old brother Youssef.
Nour came up with the idea for the store when she couldn’t find a store that met the fashion needs of girls and women in her community. “I have been wearing a hijab for three years and find it very difficult to find one that fits me well,” she says. “There is no store here where I can try them on. Girls with hijab have a hard time finding clothes.”
Nour with her younger brother Youssef.
Foto: Elena Heatherwick/IRC
Since October 2019, Lebanon has been in a severe economic crisis, which is why 80% of the population lives below the poverty line. Combined with the highest number of refugees in the world in relation to the local population, this crisis is exacerbated, with most families unable to cover even basic needs.
The Resilient Futures program, in collaboration with the Citi Foundation, supports young people like Nour to strengthen their economic resilience.
At the start of the revolution in 2019, Nour was a student with no income, so she applied to the Resilient Futures Entrepreneurship Support Program. The grant provided Nour with funding and training in finance, entrepreneurship, marketing and customer service.
Nour says: “What [meinen Laden] What makes it unique is that I can put entire outfits together here, whereas in other stores you just buy a T-shirt or a pair of trousers and then don’t know how to combine them correctly.”
Foto: Elena Heatherwick/IRC
Nour initially started her business in the space below her parents’ apartment, where she primarily sold hijabs, bags, makeup and various accessories. She met people who sold their homemade products and eventually started selling them in her shop with their permission. This enabled her to expand her range.
Today, Nour is the proud owner of two shops that are known not only in her hometown, but throughout Lebanon and even abroad thanks to her advertising on TikTok and Instagram.
“I follow current fashion trends and love combining colors and creating things,” says Nour.
Foto: Elena Heatherwick/IRC
Nour likes it best when customers come into her store and ask her for her opinion on her selection. “It makes me feel good because it means they trust my opinion,” she says, looking around her shop, full of satisfaction at the fruits of her hard work.
Nour has always been interested in fashion and design. The success of her business allows her to continue doing what she loves: “I don’t think of what I do as work. It’s a hobby that I can do.”
Every time a customer goes home satisfied, they feel like they have fulfilled their purpose. “You can buy fashion, but you have to have a sense of style. I help people just by giving them a touch of my style.”
Nour styling her customer and friend Carine Trawy.
Foto: Elena Heatherwick/IRC
“Lebanese don’t give up – come what may.”
“Bravo! You persevered and held on to your dreams. “You didn’t give up until you reached your goal,” Nour compliments her current self as she remembers the time when she was just a child with a big dream.
She is proud of her success as a businesswoman who has broken gender norms in her country. “As women [in Libanon] “We are used to not being allowed to make decisions and that someone else should control things for us,” she says. “But the reality is that even as a woman, I can work hard and achieve anything. When I expanded the store and opened a second one, I worked as hard as 100,000 young men.”
Nour wants to be a courageous example for aspiring Lebanese girls. If she could give them one piece of advice it would be: “Hold on to your dreams. If you stick to something you love, success will always come… So do what you love.”
Nour stands in front of her shop in Chehime, Lebanon.
Foto: Elena Heatherwick/IRC
Learn more about IRC and Citi Foundation’s Resilient Futures Program.
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