Bismillaahir rahmaanir raheem
Assalamu ‘Alaikum! Today’s stories include ingenuity in today’s tech world, the increasing popularity of halal tourism, and the repercussions of the modern day AI technology boom.
CAREER
New Grad Muslimah’s Coding Creativity Leads to a Dozen Job Offers after 40+ Rejections
Youth joblessness has risen to approximately 10% this year across Southeast Asia as AI increasingly erodes entry level positions. Sister Aisha Rahman was one of the many software engineering college grads in the region effected by this trend, she sent out 47 applications to companies from Silicon valley to Singapore, an received 47 rejections.
Instead of retreating into inaction, Aisha used a hint of creativity to come up with a new idea, to create a free app that links halal farmers in rural Indonesia with food-buyers in the Gulf. After 6 months of coding, ideation, experimentation, and grit, one LinkedIn post telling her story and explaining her app led to a flooded inbox from startups in Dubai and funds in Nairobi.
Innovation instead of Internships
While AI is rapidly killing entry level jobs, stories like Aisha’s shows the shift from traditional career fairs, internships, and serial applications, to building and innovating real world solutions in order to create your own opportunities.
Moving forward this will most likely become the new normal, not just in southeast Asia, but around the world. Global youth unemployment has reached nearly 13%, largely due to the average company now demanding at least 3-5 years of experience for quote-on-quote “entry level jobs”.
For the last 5+ years, the corporate world has moved lightning fast towards AI integration and implementation for lower-skilled repetitive tasks. But this just means current upcoming engineering graduates need to re-orient and upgrade their skills in a way that specifically aligns with what the current marketplace demands. AI can’t use itself, at least not yet anyways.
TRAVEL
Halal Tourism Is Taking Over the Global Travel Industry
Muslim-friendly travel is one of the fastest-growing sectors in global tourism. The amount of Muslim travelers has surged rapidly since 2020, pushing analysts to project a $410.9 billion halal travel market by 2032.
That demand is reshaping the industry. Families across the Muslim world now have more disposable income than ever before, primarily driven by rising opportunities in the broader Islamic economy; from tech to finance to halal consumer goods. More income = more passports stamped. And globally, it’s part of a wider rebound: international travel overall has grown 300%+ since 2020, getting nearer to just about where pre-pandemic levels use to be.
This is where HalalBooking comes in.
The UK-based halal travel platform, HalalBooking, just secured $5 million in new investment, positioning itself to capture the surge in Muslim travel demand. HalalBooking already offers over 500,000 halal-friendly accommodations, and the fresh capital will be used to scale its tech, expand partnerships, and strengthen its presence across GCC and Southeast Asia, currently the world’s hottest Muslim travel destinations.
Muslim travelers aren’t limiting themselves to the well-known “classic destinations” either. Such as countries like Türkiye, Malaysia, Morocco, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, which still overwhelmingly dominate the charts. But the new wave of Muslim travel has expanded globally:
Japan now trains hospitality staff in Muslim etiquette and prayer-friendly services
Thailand created a national Halal Tourism Strategy
The Philippines is onboarding hotels into halal certification networks
Non-Muslim countries want in because the demand is undeniable.
Halal tourism is no longer an add-on category; it’s becoming a core pillar of global travel economics. With companies like HalalBooking receiving multi-million dollar investments, it’s indicative of the industry’s expected financial growth within the next decade, bidhin’Allah ta’ala.
AI
Water Resources Strained due to AI-Induced Data Center Boom
Artificial Intelligence technology is quietly becoming extremely water-intensive which raises questions about the long term sustainability in a world of finite resources.
Despite this concern, the global AI hardware race continues to escalate: Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, says he hopes the company’s next-gen Blackwell chips can be sold in China, though the final decision rests with Donald Trump and U.S. export-controls.
But this will not hinder the trillion dollar AI investment engine in the slightest, global data center demand is still rising, even though environmental experts have brought to light the potential future consequences.
SADAQAH SPOTLIGHT
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Jummah Mubarak.
Barakallahu feekum,
Assalamu ‘Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu
Yair Ahiyya
Falah Connect
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