This Ramadan, Hayat Life was honored to present Roar for Good founder Yasmine Mustafa as a Top 30 Illuminator of 2021. Hayat spoke with Mustafa about her work as a tech and social entrepreneur. Here is her story.
A refugee from Kuwait of Palestinian heritage, Yasmine Mustafa lived in the US undocumented for a decade before eventually becoming a citizen. The serial entrepreneur celebrated by taking her passport on a solo adventure through South America. There, she spoke to a shocking and disturbing number of women who had experienced sexual harassment and violence while traveling.
After returning home, Mustafa founded the Philadelphia-based start-up ROAR for Good to produce “AlwaysOn” workplace panic buttons for women working in housekeeping and hospitality. Last month, ROAR for Good closed a funding round that will enable them to branch out into more markets.
Hayat spoke with Mustafa about the future of ROAR for Good, working in the intersection of tech and business, and more.
Yasmine Mustafa founded ROAR for Good to protect women
Traveling in South America, Mustafa heard countless stories of sexual harassment and violence from fellow female travelers. Shortly after she returned home, her neighbor was sexually assaulted. These events culminated in a desire to help women protect themselves.
So, Mustafa founded ROAR for Good. After tossing around a few ideas – including a pepper spray bracelet – ROAR settled on the “AlwaysOn” button. The small, versatile, wearable device can call for help with the press of a button. It then sends the wearer’s location to security, managers, or whoever else receives the alerts.
Yasmine Mustafa talks tech and equality
In addition to her work as founder and CEO of ROAR, Mustafa has involved herself in several other tech-focused projects.
“It’s a little funny, because I don’t code,” she explains. “But I’m involved in ROAR for Good, Girl Code It, and Coded By Kids. Because I believe in the birth lottery. That means we don’t control where we’re born, the circumstances we’re born into, but for me me technology and education can provide access as a pathway to allow someone to change their life.”
Mustafa goes on to explain how she sees tech, especially coding, as a potential equalizer. “Coded By Kids is a way to get kids get into tech, it’s mostly kids of color and kids living in poverty. It’s also a way for them to see it as a viable career path.”
She adds that she hopes to see these kinds of programs offer more economic empowerment for impoverished communities.
The future of ROAR for Good
ROAR has focused its efforts in hotels up until now. “US hotels are committed to having location-based panic buttons in locations,” Mustafa explains. These commitments come from changing local and state laws, unions, and increasingly the hotel brands themselves putting the safety of their workers at the forefront.
However, with another round of funding under their belt, ROAR is also looking to branch out. Mustafa has set up a pilot program for bringing AlwaysOn into the healthcare industry, noting that nurses and hospital workers face some of the most difficult conditions. “People spit on them, attack them—they’re seeing people at their worst,” Mustafa explains.
But with ROAR for Good, she also hopes to see these working conditions improve, offering peace of mind to workers around the world. As she says in her TedTalk, “No one should be afraid while trying to earn a living wage.”
Learn more about Roar for Good here.
