Recognizing that the activewear and sports industry needed more inclusive, culturally sensitive, and modest options for women of all ages and CEO and Founder, Muna Mohamed set out to address this issue. Muna’s success derives from her passion for sports, experience navigating this space as Black Muslim woman, athlete, and her work in community as youth basketball coach, and advocacy for Muslim girls in sports. The springboard for this business was a community-based research project, titled, “Impact of Culturally Sensitive Apparel Co-Design on the Physical Activity of East African Adolescent Girls,” which designed and created culturally appropriate activewear for East African girls thus allowing the girls to be physically active while still maintaining and respecting cultural practices. During the project, Muna help initiate the creation of the first-ever culturally sensitive sports uniform for Muslim girls, and now currently a part of the uniforms used by female athlete who are a part of the Cedar Riverside Community Travelling Basketball Program.
Influenced by this, Muna began her own research. From her continued work in this area, she started her business, Kalsoni, whose mission is to empower women and girls to be physically active by bringing activewear that upholds their values of modesty and instills confidence. Kalsoni was created to change the way activewear was designed and to shed the light on inclusive, conscious, and community-centered design approach. She wants to expand the accessibility of modest activewear across communities so more Muslim women and girls can be who they are, not compromise their values and faith, and engage in a healthy active lifestyle. She aspires to give women and girls a voice, be heard and collectively create change in their communities. Through, Kalsoni, she hopes to take part in the promotion and advancement of girls’ and women’s sport and physical activity opportunities.
Since launching her business, she was recognized by local and international organizations. Locally, she was one of four student finalists in the MN Cup competition, a recipient of the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota Innovator, and one of 8 business nationally selected for the Target Incubator. Muna was one of fifty globally selected to participate in Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Innovators, a program designed to empower rising global young changemakers in the creative sector to drive social, economic, and urban change. Currently, she is part of the Embark program, a program developed by REI Path Ahead Venture and Founded Outdoors to support aspiring founders of color.
Muna received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Exercise Science from Augsburg University and her Master of Science Degree in Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota. Prior to her studies, she was a youth basketball coach and co-founder of the Cedar Riverside Community Travelling Basketball Program (CRCTB). She previously works at Girls on Run as program coordinator as well as the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx as a Social Responsibility Coordinator. Currently, she is a full-time entrepreneur running her business, Kalsoni and continues her work as a coach and an active role model off and on the basketball courts.
