The Life-Giving Project provides Eastern and African holistic practices for women and girls with activities including yoga and Longo dance classes.
Dunya’s idea for the business came from speaking to women during the Covid-19 pandemic who felt that online classes were a safe-haven for them from feeling isolated or lonely. Due to having years of experience in running a variety of public classes, Dunya wanted to set up her own business to provide these both online and in-person.
She applied for the Inclusive Entrepreneurship Programme as it was targeted at a demographic she belonged to, and therefore felt acknowledged by it. Once on the programme, she also found the use of consultants and a team from a similar background to be very useful as they more easily understood certain challenges she faced and find solutions that would work for her.
She was able to use the grant she received on equipment, such as yoga mats for her in-person classes and a tripod for online ones, helping secure a space to use, and developing her website.
Furthermore, Dunya presented an Action Learning Set on ‘how to charge clients for services and tell them about increased rates’ where the probing questions inspired her with many actions to take away from the session, including creating a set price list, marketing focussed on the unique aspect she brings, and creating formal contracts to give to clients.