Afraa Kori
Magistrates Court family violence respondent practitioner and Maribryonong young entrepreneur, Omnia Suleman, is the first to tell you her success is not built on privilege. Her journey is of perseverance, dedication and survival.
Before dreams were possible, she had to flee Sudan’s civil war.
“Life in Sudan was challenging, and with little opportunity for education, my family decided to relocate to Egypt, where we would apply through the United Nations Embassy to settle in America,” she said.
“Our application to America was unsuccessful on multiple attempts. In 2005 an opportunity for a sponsorship to Australia arose, and this was the breakthrough for my family. With the support of my uncle, Hassan, we migrated to Australia in August 2005 and settled in Brisbane, Queensland.”
In Australia, Omnia found a passion for entrepreneurship which came from seeing her mother work and maximise every opportunity and skill to build a life for her children.
“In my early years [in Sudan], I predominantly remember going into work with my mother as she completed a paid internship at a local church in design and sewing. I would go in with her, and as I got to work, I played with the other kids who also came in with their mothers,” she said.
“Alongside her internship, my mother was always working. By day she brewed alcohol at home to sell, imported goods and accessories to sell, and at night whilst she cared for my siblings and I, she would sew beddings and living room throws and coverings also to sell. In reflection, she was and still is an entrepreneur.
“In Egypt I continued to witness my mother work multiple jobs, to pay our school fees, put food on the table and have just enough left over to celebrate the big milestone (like birthdays and Christmas), whilst saving for our tickets to leave the country.
“Entrepreneurship was a means for survival in Sudan. My mother shared that it was not uncommon for women to hold multiple jobs and have side businesses in home economics areas, or trade to make a living and feed the family.”
However Omnia is no longer in survival mode; her entrepreneurial spirit is fuelled by passion and purpose.
“In my experience in Australia, entrepreneurship is about creating, developing, or answering to a need in which the community holds. It is also about passion, working for myself, and serving my community,” she said.
“It has always been a goal to develop a platform to encourage and empower women to be intentional about their health journeys. I wanted to build a brand that caters to all women, especially marginalised women, that is centred around empowerment and inclusion. Runway Active [her athleisure brand] was launched and operates out of Melbourne as an e-commerce business.
“Life has instilled in me integrity, resilience and courage, these values guide me in every aspect of my life. Runway Active is an extension of me and my values. More importantly it is an extension of what I believe as a collective we need, which is a safe space, our own space (as women, all women, women of colour, women from different walks of life, women who experience intersectional needs).”
Her core vision at Runway Active is to give back to the community, both in Australia and Sudan.
“Sudan has been experiencing an ongoing civil war that has seen the height of the conflict over the past year. With this in mind, it is a challenging task to think of a legacy as a young Sudanese Australian whilst knowing the difficulties of those suffering as a result of the war, but it is also important to do so.
“Runway Active is not a political brand, but with all that is happening around the world if we can bring awareness and educate the world about our lives and the experiences of others. During hardship and war, that would be an incredible achievement and legacy.
“Success would be to establish a prominent presence in the fitness and fashion industry by creating an inclusive space that embraces all women, and a business that is also recognized for creating initiatives centred on promoting well-being. My advice to any young women considering entrepreneurship is to identify a gap and if you believe you can contribute to the solution, start!”
Despite the lack of women entrepreneurs, Omnia is proud to witness an increase of African women, Sudanese and South Sudanese women establish businesses.
“Whilst we continue to face unique challenges in business including opportunities and representation, there are incredible initiatives like this journal that chooses to provide us a platform and an opportunity. I encourage organisations and government bodies to establish programs and initiatives that provide similar opportunities for women from diverse backgrounds to grow and scale their businesses.
