Meet new kids on the tech block

Meet new kids on the tech block

Pushing against your self-doubt might weigh you down, but when you have firm faith in yourself and trust your skillset, it is worth it. This is the belief of Dubai-based Canadian expat, Iba Ali, 16, who sells handmade cloth bags made from recycled t-shirts. Her love for the arts and passion for sustainable living led her to repurpose an old t-shirt into a durable cloth bag, an idea that soon became a venture called Creativity For All. Her products are sold on her website (cfadubai.com) and various school sales like Spring and Christmas fairs. She sends the proceeds from these sales towards purchasing art supplies for students with a restricted budget and has supported children in schools located in Kabul and Africa. A grade 11 student at the American School of Dubai, Iba recalls how she started her business: ‘It was a Friday morning when my mother was cleaning out some clothes, and I asked her if I could have an old t-shirt that she would give to charity bins.’ Keen to explore an opportunity in everything, ‘even a neglected grey t-shirt’, she started working on it without any particular aim, cutting pieces out and tying other bits together, creating