Thawra Network

In Arabic, thawra means revolution. At its core, Thawra Networks seeks to revolutionize the lived experiences of Arabs and Muslims in America through identity affirming content and groundbreaking stories. Thawra has a demographic and entertainment focus similar to BET networks, with a social impact and community development lens like Blavity, Inc. and the Oprah Winfrey Network.

In 2019, we launched Thawra’s first series, the Dearborn Girl podcast, to catalogue the stories of Arab and Muslim women, where we have over 100 pieces of evergreen content and counting. Prior to COVID 19, we held three sold-out events and began selling Dearborn Girl merch. Advertisements, event ticket sales, and e-commerce sales are Thawra's three streams of revenue.

After COVID-19, we were unable to host events or record our podcast in the studio, so we have been ramping up our Instagram strategy. Specifically, we have launched three new IGTV series to engage our Arab and Muslim user in conversations on eradicating anti-Blackness in Arab and Muslim American communities. Our user is responding favorably to this new strategy, especially considering social media use is on the rise, and podcast listening is on a slow decline since the pandemic.

Under the Dearborn Girl umbrella, we have also launched a book club series called "Know Better, Do Better," where we engage our growing user in weekly virtual book-club chats to educate our community on social justice issues. Our first book was "the New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander, and our next book is "Freedom is a Constant Struggle" by Angela Davis. In addition to just being the right thing to use our platform from a moral standpoint, the book club has also helped us grow our user significantly and replace our live events.

More recently, we launched Typical 3rab, a TikTok channel that celebrates Arab American culture. Thawra content is currently streaming in over 70 countries across the globe, and we plan to expand to different markets through targeted ads and collaborating with other micro-influencers in Arab American communities across the nation. We are currently part of the Desai Accelerator program, where our top three priorities by May 2021 are to grow our user to 115K, develop an ads package across all platforms, and further develop our e-commerce strategy.

Outside of co-hosting DG interviews and being part of the accelerator, we are constantly looking for ways to learn and connect with leaders who can help us be better.