On April 25, 2023, Sumaia Sediqi arrived in France, heavily pregnant and carrying only the essentials. Her long journey had taken her from Kabul to Islamabad, and finally to Paris and Strasbourg.

Behind her: a life in Afghanistan shattered by the return of the Taliban. Ahead: uncertainty, a foreign country, and a new language. Two years later, she is co-founder of Dor Afghanistan a jewelry and fashion brand made by Afghan women, When she joined HEC Paris Launchpad, she had the opportunity to further develop DOR and showcase her work at a pop-up store organized by HEC Imagine. Her story is one of resilience, reinvention, and the quiet strength of a woman determined not only to survive, but to build.

Escaping the Taliban, while pregnant

In 2021, when the Taliban took back control of Kabul, Sumaia was working in a startup with her friend Behishta Nazir, now a graduate at HEC Paris and part of the Imagine Fellowship. The regime change meant immediate danger for professional women. “I had to leave because of my safety,” she says. But leaving was far from simple — especially as a woman. “Women were not allowed to travel alone without a male guardian in Afghanistan. And I had to make a decision quickly. At the same time, I was pregnant.”
Her brother helped her flee to Pakistan. “I was in my last months to leave Afghanistan, but I was able to leave with my brother who could get me to Pakistan because you have to go to a second country. And then he came back to Afghanistan and I was alone in Pakistan for one month.” Eventually, her husband joined her in Islamabad, after paying a large sum for a visa. Together, they received a visa from the French Embassy. The couple flew from Islamabad to Paris, and then to Strasbourg, where they were welcomed by a French host family.

Giving birth, and being born again

Their son was born on June 9, 2023, in Strasbourg — a milestone not only for the child, but for Sumaia herself. “I felt like I was someone who was born again,” she explains. “This end of April I’ll be two years old — two years of living in France. Because it was like starting from zero, relearning everything.”
Her arrival was not without hardship. “While I was a pregnant woman, I was sent to a refugee camp and I had this bad experience of being in a refugee camp. It was in Colmar.” Her French host family intervened to bring her out. “He came like an angel and he helped us and supported us. He let us stay at his place until now.”
Little by little, she began to find her footing. “We started to send our baby to crèche. We started to find French classes for ourselves, which was not easy. It was very difficult and I’m still struggling.”

Creating a business to give back

Wanting to regain independence, Sumaia and her husband decided to launch a business. “We wanted to become independent and be someone who’s efficient for themselves and also for society, especially in a society that we want to be integrated in.”

Through a friend, she discovered Singa, an organization that helps refugees start their own businesses. “They were very welcoming. Even though the program was in French, they said, ‘You know what? We will give you French teachers’ — one-on-one classes. Not a lot, but still, something is better than nothing.”
Their project was selected: Dor, which means precious stone in Farsi, focuses on handcrafted silver and gemstone jewelry made by Afghan women. “Our jewelry is all made by Afghan women in Afghanistan.”
Sumaia designs the pieces and sends the sketches to the artisans via WhatsApp. “It’s all handmade, all by their hands and some little basic machines.” Shipping is complicated and partly confidential: “We have to send it outside of Afghanistan… We send the jewelry to France, with stops first in Dubai, then Germany, and finally to France. We receive the tracking number once it leaves Dubai.…” she says. Dor Afghanistan jewelry is distributed on the brand’s website and featured on its instagram account.
More than a commercial venture, Dor is also a platform for empowerment. “I’m helping them to learn English. I also offered them self-development programs — like leadership, entrepreneurship. Any courses that are free and online, I give access to them so they can study.”

Finding her voice at HEC

Seven months of paperwork later, Sumaia received authorization to start her business in France. Shortly after, she heard about HEC Launchpad, a program by HEC Imagine that supports entrepreneurs working on impact-driven startups. She applied. “I was not expecting to be selected in HEC as it’s a very, very big and prestigious business school — not just in France, but in the world.”
She was accepted, and quickly moved to Paris for the duration of the program. “Even though it was short for me to make a decision to come to Paris, I didn’t hesitate. I knew that I would definitely learn something here — which I did.” What she gained most? “Confidence,” she says. “I have more confidence in presenting myself and presenting my idea.”

Looking forward: two homes, one mission

Her time at HEC deepened her ambition. “These are the little flowers that I grow as a refugee, around myself — to give back the beauty, the smell, and the efforts to the country that accepted me as someone that was looking for safety.”
Sumaia is also the co-author of the french podcast “Inside Kabul and Outside Kabul” produced by Caroline Gillet. This multi award winning podcast has been adopted to a film animation by France TV and BBC.
Does she dream of returning to Afghanistan one day? “If the Taliban is out… why not? Should we go back to a country that’s fragile, that needs its people to build it again? And for what I have learned here — why not be part of something that can be meaningful, and truly change something?”
In the meantime, she continues to build Dor, blending Afghan traditional jewelry with contemporary design. “It’s also a cultural and artistic representation of our country. We’ve always been in war, and I think it’s time to work on our art, our history, our culture — and we’ve got to protect it.”

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