Modest fashion must be more empowering, united and inclusive: Q&A with Franka Soeria | Salaam Footbridge

Franka Soeria is a fashion consultant who works primarily in a modest fashion. Franka and her business partner Ozlem Sahin form the duo behind Think Fashion, which organizes pioneering modest fashion weeks in key cities like Istanbul, London, Dubai and Jakarta. Franka is also behind #Markamarie, a company that provides services to modest fashion companies, particularly in her native Indonesia. In February Franka and #Markamarie announced a new "Fund the Founders" incubation program in Kuala Lumpur to help modest fashion brands compete on the world stage.

This question-and-answer session with Franka is part of Salaam Gateway's International Women's Day 2020 series, co-designed and organized by Nyra Mahmood, director of Simply Sharia Human Capital (SSHC LTD), based in the United Kingdom. , the editors of the 2016 report "Women in Islamic Finance". And Islamic economics ". Franka's answers have been changed for the language.

Salaam Gateway: You recently announced a new incubator for modest entrepreneurs and fashion businesses in Kuala Lumpur, similar to the one you and #Markamarie started in Indonesia. Based on your fieldwork in Indonesia and with Think Fashion in the major Islamic countries hosting modest fashion weeks, what role do women play in a modest way?

Modest fashion was born because of the need for women to wear more modest and covered clothes. Women could not find suitable modest items and therefore tried to find solutions. Some try to share where they find modest items – which is done by influencers, some try to provide solutions and create modest products by themselves, some try to create start-ups (including events) to support brands.

Women are really the brains of the whole movement.

Modest fashion products created by women generally resonate better for customers, simply because women wear them, so they know what is needed and what innovation needs to be made. For example, some create instant hijabs as a practical solution, some create burkinis because they know that women need good covered swimsuits to be able to swim and be covered. And lots of other things …

For the Modest Fashion Founders Fund that #Markamarie made with the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy in Indonesia, we had 400 participants made up of designers and brands which are mainly led by women. Modest fashion is therefore really about women.

At the press event announcing the incubator at KL, you said that what many small creators lack is the commercial and marketing ability to go hand in hand with their talent. How do you work with women entrepreneurs in a modest way to give them the skills and abilities needed to grow their business?

Many women have great creativity and they are good at engaging with customers because of their social nature. However, few people understand the financial or commercial side. Many of these companies are very "DIY". The women behind the brands are the ones who do everything from A to Z. Generally, they are spontaneous and lack planning. So sometimes their efforts don't work. What #Markamarie does is that we offer training, individual mentoring and we also offer collective management services.

We manage a few brands under our company.

A quick glance at modest fashion in the sectors of the Islamic economy shows a disproportionately high participation rate of women, from designers to business owners, from clothing manufacturers to organizers of events. Is it correct? More relevantly, are women also the decision-makers of companies in the modest fashion supply chain?

Yes. Most are performed by women. Modest fashion has a very very strong community spirit. The community is mainly led by women.

What is interesting in some countries is that we will see so many women being supported by husbands to do business. The woman is therefore at the front as the face of the brand, and the husband supports the woman while thinking of the commercial side. But are women the decision makers? Yes…

You have not specified whether the new KL incubator is dedicated only to women, but we assume that it is not. Anyway, do you think business incubators dedicated to women can better support women entrepreneurs?

The Fund The Founders program initiated by #Markamarie Malaysia is led by women for all. We understand that a lot of men are also trying to do business, so we open it for that. But this is created by women and this program will put the perspective of women at the heart of the business. Can women's programs better support? I can say yes .. but the mentors must be mixed .. because men also have a lot of good ideas from which women can learn.

Are the barriers for women entrepreneurs different in the main Islamic economies in which you work?

When women throw something, people don't take it seriously until they see that it actually happens. Perhaps because our approach is more "fraternal" than men's affairs. But now, marketing is a matter of community, in fact. People market their products to communities because they are more effective. Peer pressure is not limited to selling it to "the ocean full of people".

What are the three main obstacles in Indonesia and in another key Islamic economy in which you work?

I can say: access.

Many women have good ideas but do not have access to: promotion, equal opportunities, funding.

#Markamarie strives to provide equal access for all through different programs. Not everyone agrees to support new talents or initiatives because they are in a comfort zone of choosing the same name over and over again. I can say that we are working hard to promote this view in Indonesia. We must open equal access to all. We don't like exclusivity. We are an accelerator. We are trying to bring the same values ​​to Malaysia and the other countries to come in which we are growing.

You work mainly with the private sector to organize modest fashion weeks. How do you work with government agencies to support women entrepreneurs in Indonesia?

I can say that I myself am a self-funded entrepreneur who is trying to be independent. We use our own funding to build our movement. This has been the way for a long time.

I defend the industry through media appearances or by being a key player here and there. I see that Indonesia is a very large country with a lot of talent, but there is a lack of strong brands. Why? We identify the problems .. we communicate this through the media .. then the entrepreneurs start coming to see us one by one and tell us about their problems. We try to help them as much as possible …

With #Markamarie, we have also made investments for certain brands or helped brands attract investors.

Then the government came to us and asked us to create a program to support entrepreneurs. It’s like a dream come true. From the success of this program, we want to bring this to Malaysia through the Fund The Founders program. I hope we can also apply this program to other regions.

You have been frank in the past that access to finance and funds for modest entrepreneurs and fashion businesses was asymmetrical with reported annual increases in the size of the Islamic economy, including the financing and funds. Do you still believe that? Are women entrepreneurs more disadvantaged than their male counterparts in this regard?

Yes.

I think the challenges for women entrepreneurs arise because investors fear that women will leave the business for personal reasons like marriage, having children and everything. Most of the time, women-led businesses are run by the woman at the helm herself. Multi-roles. That’s why women need a team to support them. They must start to form an appropriate team, delegate their work and plan better.

Furthermore, the problem is not because investors do not want to invest. It is because they do not know the business. Reason? "We don't know where to go to get investment …" So a link is missing.

This is why we hope that #Markamarie will be a bridge for this, while we are trying to bring investors together now to connect them with the brands. We are now focusing on Southeast Asia: Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia, of course.

Businesses can develop in different ways, including starting and growing organically with internal funds. If a modest fashion company wanted or needed external funds to grow, are there now many female investors they could approach? Is it important that the investors are men or women?

Investments in seeds come mainly from their own pockets. Either their own savings or others. When it goes well, they have to raise the level. For example, a brand is accepted in several sales channels, and then it must produce more. However, money is not enough, so they need funding.

I think there are a lot of women investors but from what I know, they are personal and more spontaneous, like they invest because they are loyal customers of the brand or just a friend.

However, due to the personal approach, opinions are not overly business oriented. So what's going on is that it doesn't get as serious as other investments. Some people want instant results and are disappointed when they don't come as quickly as they expect… because we know investment is not negotiable. You don't see the result immediately. There is a process to follow .. sometimes you lose money, then the brands are frustrated.

What we are trying to do is try to educate and defend them. We explain the process. We also help brands better prepare themselves for a smooth process.

Do you see women modestly supporting other women in the industry in business, or is the industry so fierce that it is every woman's?

Modest fashion is not such a modest enterprise. I can say.

I expected better practices because the word is "modest" but I realized that business is ultimately business.

Women may appear to be sisterhood, but they may do the opposite behind people's backs.

I think the competition is very tough, especially now that everyone is watching the industry. Because we always hear the word "billion dollar industry", then everyone wants to have a piece of the cake. Everyone wants to be the first, the best, the most famous, etc.

I understand. I understand. But we have to try to make this industry more user-friendly than the others, we have to have an identity. The most modest must be more autonomous, united and inclusive.

This is why we advocate fair play through our events, media appearances and other projects. We have to collaborate more than compete, because this industry was born because of us women.

© SalaamGateway.com 2020 All rights reserved