Muslim Marketplace Launched Amid Pandemic Lockdown

A Muslim lifestyle marketplace has recently launched in the midst of a global pandemic and lockdown. Noor and Zafir is a  modern Muslim lifestyle marketplace that aims to cater to the modern Muslim tastes for modest fashion.  

We spoke with the CEO of NoorandZafir.com to find out more about the aspirations and rationale for the new marketplace. 

Filling In The Fashion Gap

Marta Maryam Rosza is a modern Muslimah who sees the gaps between what’s available in terms of Muslim fashion, and what’s missing. According to Marta, the majority of marketplaces only cater to Muslim clothing and do not really attract the needs of the modern Muslim men and women who are looking for beautiful, new, and modern designs and yet fit in the modest and halal categories. 

Empowering Brands And Consumers

However, the idea for creating a marketplace runs much deeper than just filling in the fashion gaps in the industry. 

Marta explains that creating a marketplace is, “ a very responsible job.”

“It means we embrace all the brands, and help them on their journey…help them to grow, help them to reach a global audience, helping them to sell more, survive and thrive.“

“As for the consumers, it means that we’re helping them to bring a great variety of products to them which they might not find themselves. While maybe the better-known brands, they’ll be able to find, however, Noor and Zafir marketplace would like to bring a huge collection of amazing smaller brands.”

Noora and Zafir marketplace curates and selects brands for contemporary Muslims and Muslim millennials with contemporary tastes. So these Muslim consumer groups no longer need to scroll through many pages just to find the right designs that they can identify with.

Finding The Right Names

Coming up with the name of Noor and Zafir as the name of the marketplace was also part of the journey. Marta decided on the names to reflect the Islamic roots, uniting the female and the male, and more importantly, reflecting what’s valuable and inspiring.  

Hence, the names were chosen to represent positivity, as Noor means light, radiance, and Zafir means victor in Arabic. 

Launching A New Business Amid The Lockdown

NoorandZafir.com  recently launched amid the global pandemic lockdown. 

“There are many sectors that are doing well online during the pandemic. The traffic and searches for e-commerce have increased.  All the main news channels have gained due to the lockdowns.”

“Even there are difficulties, companies can see the possibilities of online sales, and I think they will recognize the importance of e-commerce today.”

Despite the economic uncertainty, Marta has encouraging words for businesses out there. 

“Collaborate with each other. Search for people that can help you, and that you can help them. Together you can make it.”

“That’s the Ummah. Helping each other and embracing each other, globally in this new era.”

Farah I, Writer & Researcher

Farah Ishak is a Content Writer at Halalop. She grew up in the United Kingdom where she obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Management. Later, she completed her MBA and held senior-level positions in Malaysian based MNC. She left the corporate world to be with her young kids. She is passionate about issues concerning Muslim women, Startups and Muslim businesses in general.