Fashion designer and entrepreneur Zainab Salihijo has launched the “1 Million Scarves” campaign, an initiative aimed at raising funds to empower women entrepreneurs across Nigeria through the sale of specially designed scarves.

The campaign, unveiled in Abuja, seeks to support 100 women with grants to expand and formalise their businesses, while also using fashion as a platform to inspire personal transformation and social impact.

 

Speaking at the launch, Salihijo recounted her unconventional journey from studying medicine to building a career in fashion, describing the campaign as an extension of her own story of reinvention.

 

She said losing her father at the age of 11 shaped her determination to pursue purpose despite uncertainty. After beginning medical studies, she switched to biotechnology, later earned a degree in public health, and eventually embraced fashion design, a decision she admitted was difficult to explain to her family.

 

“I’ve had to reinvent myself several times,” she said. “The message behind this campaign is that it’s okay to become who you’re meant to be, even if the journey doesn’t look the way you planned.”

 

She added that her creative exploration recently expanded into painting and photography, culminating in an art exhibition where one of her paintings was sold at auction.

 

According to Salihijo, the campaign was initially conceived to benefit a much larger number of women before organisers decided to focus resources on supporting 100 entrepreneurs with greater impact.

 

The beneficiaries, she explained, are women already engaged in income-generating activities, including tailoring, carpentry, food processing, perfume making and other small businesses. Funds generated from scarf sales will be used to help them strengthen and formalise their enterprises.

 

The initiative is being implemented through the Pink Fleur Foundation, which evolved from the founder’s financial literacy programme, My Money Series. The foundation is chaired by Hafsah Salihijo and is partnering with the PAGED Initiative to identify beneficiaries and oversee fund management.

 

Executive Director of the PAGED Initiative, Ummi Bukar, said the organisation’s decade-long experience supporting women and girls through advocacy on education, healthcare, gender-based violence and community development positioned it to help translate advocacy into sustainable economic empowerment.

 

She described the partnership as an opportunity to create lasting economic opportunities for women rather than offering short-term interventions.

 

Salihijo also appealed for government support through grants and collaboration in identifying women in underserved communities, particularly in conflict-affected areas such as Borno State.

 

She disclosed that the campaign is designed to evolve beyond fundraising, with plans to enable beneficiaries to design their own scarves in future, creating another source of income through fashion and creativity.

 

Unlike conventional charitable fundraising, she said, the campaign allows buyers to see the specific woman whose business will benefit from each scarf purchased through the Pink Fleur website, creating a direct connection between donors and beneficiaries.

 

The launch also featured personal reflections from several influencers and content creators who collaborated on the scarf collection. The contributors shared stories of career transitions, personal struggles and self-discovery, explaining how their individual experiences inspired the scarf designs.

 

Lifestyle content creator Zainab Hassan encouraged participants to embrace authenticity and pursue meaningful work, describing self-acceptance as a key part of personal growth.

 

Organisers said 11 influencers from Nigeria and other countries contributed designs to the collection, with each scarf representing a unique story of transformation.

 

Earlier, host and campaign collaborator Halimah Tauheed described the initiative as a platform that empowers women on their own terms rather than according to societal expectations.

 

She expressed optimism that the collaboration between Pink Fleur and the PAGED Initiative would grow into a global movement for women’s economic empowerment.

 

The event concluded with a showcase of the scarf collection and networking among participants attending physically and virtually.