November 2025 Fellows' update: Arfah Farooq
Arfah Farooq (CF 2017) was named number six on Computer Weekly’s list of the Top 50 Most Influential Women in UK Tech 2025.
By Arfah Farooq, 7 November 2025
Fellow's Profile
Arfah Farooq
Fellow's Profile
Arfah Farooq
Exploring, activating and empowering Muslim women in technology
Fellowship
- Themes
- Focus
-
Ensuring Muslim women's participation in the technology sector
- Countries
- Fellowship year
-
2017
- Locality
-
South East
Biography
I am a lifelong community builder, from shaping the regeneration of east London post-2012 Olympics to building resilience in young people as a youth trustee for a charity. I accidentally co-founded a start-up called Discoverables in 2012. This catapulted me into the technology world which led me to co-found Muslamic Makers, a community for Muslims who upskill and pioneer the world of technology, in 2016.
My 2017 Fellowship explored Muslim women in technology in the USA, UAE and Pakistan where I vlogged my travels and brought back my expertise to help businesses.
I have been featured as a trailblazing Muslim woman as part of the International Women's Day campaign and been named as a top 30 London Tech Week Changemaker in 2018. I have a day job working in government, where I managed an internal community of more than 1,500 product and delivery managers across the UK Government and led the No.10 Innovation Fellowship Programme. I have been on a secondment at NHSX, a leading community for artificial intelligence professionals in healthcare. I am also a Design Council expert and angel investor in start-ups for Ada Ventures.
Activity
March 2022 Fellows' update: Arfah Farooq
Community manager Arfah Farooq (CF 2017) was named on the 2021 Women in Software Power List this month. The award is in recognition of her work with the organisation she founded, Muslamic Makers, which is a community for Muslims in the tech sector.
By Arfah Farooq, 31 March 2022
Employment for young Muslims
By Arfah Farooq, 3 August 2021
Kickstarting digital careers
By Arfah Farooq, 1 March 2021
October 2020 Fellow's update: Arfah Farooq
Community manager Arfah Farooq (CF 2017) has been named an Angel Investor by Ada Ventures as part of their Ada Angels programme which aims to create a new generation of investors. Arfah will use this support and funding to develop her organisation, Muslamic Makers, a community for Muslims in the tech sector.
By Arfah Farooq, 31 October 2020
Muslim women in tech
By Arfah Farooq, 28 November 2018
Disclaimer
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
Activity
November 2025 Fellows' update: Arfah Farooq
Arfah Farooq (CF 2017) was named number six on Computer Weekly’s list of the Top 50 Most Influential Women in UK Tech 2025.
By Arfah Farooq, 7 November 2025
March 2022 Fellows' update: Arfah Farooq
Community manager Arfah Farooq (CF 2017) was named on the 2021 Women in Software Power List this month. The award is in recognition of her work with the organisation she founded, Muslamic Makers, which is a community for Muslims in the tech sector.
By Arfah Farooq, 31 March 2022
Employment for young Muslims
By Arfah Farooq, 3 August 2021
Kickstarting digital careers
By Arfah Farooq, 1 March 2021
October 2020 Fellow's update: Arfah Farooq
Community manager Arfah Farooq (CF 2017) has been named an Angel Investor by Ada Ventures as part of their Ada Angels programme which aims to create a new generation of investors. Arfah will use this support and funding to develop her organisation, Muslamic Makers, a community for Muslims in the tech sector.
By Arfah Farooq, 31 October 2020
Muslim women in tech
By Arfah Farooq, 28 November 2018
Disclaimer
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
Contact this fellow
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