What’s the design?

In Pakistan, most women and girls aren’t allowed to talk openly or explore issues such as sexual health, menstruation or contraception. But now they can ask Raaji. She’s an AI chatbot made for developing countries, who listens to girls’ taboo questions and helps them get educated on their own bodies, consent and mental health issues. Raaji has proved to be a controversial service in its home country, even though it received praise and support worldwide for its ingenuity to a deeply rooted problem. Today, the chatbot focuses on menstrual education.

The hurdle

Building an impact company often receives praise in the Western world, but it’s quite a different story in Pakistan, according to Saba Khalid, Founder of Aurat Raaj, the company behind Raaji. “There’s just lack of trust when it comes to somebody who's trying to do good and make money out of it at the same time,” she says.

In 2016, Khalid entered her 30s with no marriage or children, which meant living outside the norm in her culture. Her journey with Aurat Raaj began with a personal blog, which turned into a company focussing on reaching and educating girls.

“I came up with this idea for a cartoon, which I made with under a $200 budget,” she remembers. Tackling subjects like honorary killings, child abuse and menstrual hygiene the cartoon connected with a lot of people. Later, a UN Agency picked up on Khalid’s work and helped her get it into schools where she could make the most impact. “This was just a cartoon character that I had drawn up with my friends, but I felt excited like I could do something with this — I could make it bigger,” Khalid explains, which is why she turned Raaji into a chatbot with help from some friends.

But for Raaji’s impact to grow, Khalid needed more classrooms and a team to support her. And setting up a team is difficult in Pakistan, where success means a salary and stability and working with sexual education for girls could mean burning bridges.

The strategy

Khalid started building her team in 2019 and got the most applications through events or social media, where she would speak openly about Aurat Raaj’s struggles with funding and resources. “People have to have a progressive mindset to work in this organisation and there was no role model for us,” she explains. “There was nobody in Pakistan who had made a successful impact business, so I had no success stories to show them.”

“I realised that pitching for employees was very different from pitching for a prize or a competition. I had to be very honest with them. I told them: ‘This is the amount of funding we have, this is how long it will last, and there's going to be a lot of criticism from your family and friends asking: ‘Why are you wasting your time with this project?’”

But Khalid knew that she could reward her risk-taking employees with something else: “I also told them that I could mentor them and provide mentorship through my network,” she explains. “I attracted them with learning opportunities.” She knew that if she wanted people onboard she needed to support their personal mission like they supported hers. 

“I had to dig deep and see what their dreams were, so working on Raaji could help them achieve those dreams. Sometimes their dreams were to start their own project, and so I had to separate myself and my dreams from theirs and acknowledge that while they're here and they're doing great work, eventually I’ll have to empower and enable them to launch their own business.” 

Khalid has been fighting to get into classrooms, gain acceptance from her employees’ families and even had to pay expensive rates for guarded offices so she and her team could feel safe in the workspace. “I think a lot of people don't realise that when you're working on something like this from a developing country, you won't have any support system around — perhaps not even your family,” she says. “You need to be very strong, take care and be nice to yourself.”

Tips from the designer

• Get personal — If you want the right people on your team, you’ve got to get yourself out there, whether it’s in person or online. Company mission is important, but so is leadership. If you’re willing to share your personal story and ambitions, you’re more likely to attract a more compatible team that genuinely shares your interests and values.
• Support your teams’ ambitions — Yes, your team works for you. But they do have other things going on. Recognising and supporting your teams’ personal ambitions can be just as important as your team supporting your company’s. It can lead to better work relationships, morale and all ‘round team development.
• Get comfortable with rejection — You’re going to get knocked back plenty of times but don’t let it quell your ambition, particularly if the need for your product or service is dire. Focus on the lives you're impacting for the better, slap on some armour and carry on.
• Strive for balance — In a small team, you’ll often get overworked because you’re wearing all hats, almost all the time. Make sure to give yourself time to rest and reflect; running an impact business is a marathon, not a sprint.