Innovator Hilal Ibrahim Leads Culture Change
The story of WFM Innovator and entrepreneur Hilal Ibrahim, who leads culture change through her social enterprise company, Henna and Hijabs (H&H), is one example of why the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota invests in young women leaders to drive systems change for whole community well-being.
In 2018, Hilal used her Innovator grant to source materials and create handmade hijabs and henna by and for Muslim women. In 2019, Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital approached Hilal to introduce a new product line of H&H hijabs to their gift shop. By partnering with Hilal and offering hijabs in their giftshops, the hospital took an important step in inclusivity that no other U.S. health care organization has taken before. Working as a phlebotomist, Hilal was able to identify a need for high-quality hospital-grade hijabs and is now working with hospitals across the world on healthcare hijabs. Hilal has said:
“I was always a person that found solutions to any problems that I saw existed.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, H&H donated over 800 hijabs to medical frontline workers in Minnesota through a grant investment from WFM’s COVID-19 Response Fund for Women & Girls.
Today, she continues to scale her business. In summer 2021, H&H collaborated with Nordstrom for a first-of-its-kind partnership to bring high quality, fashionable hijabs and headscarves to Nordstrom stores.
