In this episode we talk to Amnah, Rabia and Mahnoor Nasim about what it was like growing up in a small town in the United Kingdom, relatively secluded and not as ethnically or culturally diverse as London. We talk about their experiences going to a Catholic all girls school and what it means to 'fit in' and how to balance this with being proud of their identities as Muslims. We also talk through their upbringing, the values and attitudes that their parents instilled in them growing up. We talk about how this led to all three sisters pursuing mathematics and economics at university and then going on to secure successful careers in the corporate world - first in professional services firms and now working in internal audit. We discuss how they were able to learn from each others journeys and supported each other in making the right decisions along the way. We also explore the sisters passions and plans for the future, including talking about make-up, fashion and (maybe) becoming insta-famous. Finally the sisters share their valuable advice for the young people listening !

In this episode we chat to CEO and co-founder of Islamic Finance Guru ('IFG'), Ibrahim Khan about what Islamic finance is and why he is passionate about the work IFG does to help promote and develop the market for Islamic finance products through free information and education. We talk about the differences between Islamic finance and ethical investing and the journey of how IFG was started through an online blog at university and developed into the impressive platform and knowledge bank it is today. Through financial education and supporting Muslim entrepreneurs Ibrahim and his co-founder decided to use IFG as a vehicle to target the challenge of Muslims being a quarter of the world's population but 20% poorer than the rest of the world. We talk about how IFG tries to demystify Islamic finance products and IFG's investment arm which invests in startups which work on solving real world problems. Ibrahim talks us through his journey from working as a corporate lawyer, thinking through what he really wanted to achieve and transitioning into the Islamic finance and venture capital space. Ibrahim finally talks about the opportunities for innovation in the Islamic finance space and how we all can can get more involved.

We return from our summer break with our highest profile guest yet. Born and brought up in Tooting, South West London, Imran talks to us about his childhood - being raised by his mum after losing his dad very early on in his life, and how his mother's strong grounding in Islamic values instilled in him the principles by which he lives his life today. Imran talks to us about his journey through education; finding out that he was both dyslexic and dyspraxic at school and how learning about what learning styles worked best for him helped him to make better progress academically. We go on to talk about his experience studying Law at Westminster University and how in his first year he discovered a passion for politics by getting involved with the Patchwork Foundation, a voluntary organisation that works for a more representative kind of politics. Now, as the CEO of the Patchwork Foundation (which became a charity in 2016), Imran talks about the responsibility he feels for representing young and disadvantaged minority groups in political and often high profile places, ensuring that minority communities have a 'seat at the table' and a 'voice in the room. Imran also shares his advice for young people looking to pursue a role in the charity or public sectors and the things to take into account.