LONDON: A UK-based Pakistani chef has been nominated among the world’s most impactful and game-changing entrepreneurs by Forbes — an American business magazine.
Zahra Khan from Lahore has made it to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe List in the retail and E-commerce category.
According to Forbes, there were tens of thousands of nominations, proposals, and recommendations from industry experts and former Under 30 alumni were reviewed to make up a shortlist.
The finalists were selected with the help of a judging panel that included Russian E-commerce billionaire Tatyana Bakalchuk, founder of Wildberries, French jewelry entrepreneur Valérie Messika, and Pascar Sivam, founder and CEO of Danish watchmaker Nordgreen and 2019 30 Under 30 Europe alum.
Zahra Khan founded Feya and Dyce cafes near the iconic Harrods and Selfridges retail stores in the upscale part of Central London in Knightsbridge and Oxford Street after graduating from celebrity chef Gordan Ramsay’s culinary academy.
In an interview, Khan said she founded Feya café in Central London at the same time that she became a mother after migrating to Pakistan. She set up and drove her business to success — escalating team size from 5 to 30 staff.
She said, “I have established 100 plus franchise applications from countries KSA, Qatar, Kuwait, UK, UAE and Canada that too without any formal listing.”
The young entrepreneur said she feels incredibly proud to have established three eateries in the UK’s male-male-dominated industry, whilst becoming a mother of two and battling postpartum depression.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Khan initiated a scheme to empower women and reduce the gender gap, with 10% of the profits from Feya’s retail line of chocolates, jams, and teas funneling into the cause.
