Start‑Up Story: Meraki Aura – Wellbeing Through Design

Founder: Tadiwa Mbiri (She/Her), MSc Mental Health

Business: Meraki Aura

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Creating Tools for Joy and Reflection

Meraki Aura is a wellbeing‑driven lifestyle brand offering planners, mindfulness journals and accessories designed to help people bring more positivity and structure into everyday life. Its signature products — the My Systems Planner and Shadow Work Journal — grew from Tadiwa’s personal passion for mental health and reflective practice.

Where the Idea Began

Unsatisfied with the planners she was using, Tadiwa found the solution: make her own — first for herself, then for friends. Their enthusiasm encouraged her to research the market and develop her ideas into a fully formed business.
Her products are grounded in tools she found genuinely helpful for improving her own wellbeing.

Support from B‑Enterprising

Funding from the B‑Enterprising team enabled Tadiwa to purchase samples, set up online and produce her first batch of journals. This support gave her the confidence and resources to start selling through markets and TikTok Shop.

Highlights, Challenges and Growth

Tadiwa loves the creativity of running her business — from designing products to producing content. She has developed new skills in photography and videography and reinvested profits to grow Meraki Aura.

Challenges included managing everything alone, balancing orders with university and work, and staying patient when online content didn’t perform as expected. Despite this, she values the personal and professional growth the experience has given her.

Key Lessons

She wishes she had known sooner how digital tools could streamline order management.
Her biggest takeaway?

“Start immediately — even if you’re unsure. Research, try things, and move your idea forward.”

Where She Is Now

Alongside full‑time work, Tadiwa continues to run Meraki Aura online and stocks products at Birmingham’s Red Brick Market, allowing her to maintain balance while still doing what she enjoys. She encourages any student with a business idea to connect with B-Enterprising to explore what’s possible...

Female Founders Finale👏 🏆

Five weeks.  

Forty female founders.  

Four Universities.  

Six finalists. 

One winner. 

The Female Founders programme is a collaboration bringing together four Birmingham universities to support and showcase female entrepreneurial talent from across our city. Due to exceptional demand, we welcomed fifty people to the first session, with seventeen being University of Birmingham (UoB) students/graduates. 

The programme brought together innovative women in the region over a six-week programme of practical workshops. A community was developed where participants gained the knowledge, tools, and inspiration to turn their ideas and passions into viable commercial ventures. 

A shortlist of finalists pitched to win a share of a £4,000 prize fund. Each university nominated a finalist, with additional wild card options being agreed upon by the institutions. The University of Birmingham had two students in the final, Serena Berko and Audrey Berling after they showed commitment and creativity throughout, well done both! Audrey was crowned the winner of Female Founders 2025. Congratulations Audrey for an excellent pitch and engagement throughout the competition. Audrey commented that the programme was: 

“Such an amazing experience to pitch my business start-up to a wonderful panel of investors and judges. Thank you so much for believing in me and giving 6 women the platform to be heard. Women-led businesses are incredibly important. I will never forget the amazing, 40 brilliant women I worked alongside throughout. 
 
This win was emotional, coming after a string of tough losses and questioning if I am capable. But as I try to practice what I preach to my students, if you work hard enough at something, get up after setbacks, and remain slightly crazy enough to believe anything is possible, you can achieve more than your wildest dreams.” - Post | Feed | LinkedIn 

 

Female Founders will be back in Autumn 2026. Express your Interest here. Who knows where this journey will take you? 

Start Up Spotlight: ConnectedCulture 💡

Henna Chumber is a PhD Psychology student whose start‑up, ConnectedCulture, is reshaping how cultural perspectives are understood within mental health care.

ConnectedCulture is a growing educational platform that supports mental health professionals and communities to better recognise, respect, and respond to culturally informed experiences of mental illness. From understanding how symptoms are interpreted in different cultures to navigating stigma and intergenerational trauma, Henna is building resources that help bridge gaps in communication and care.

The idea emerged during a visit to Australia in 2024, where Henna noticed clear parallels between the underrepresentation she saw in their services and her own experiences working in UK mental health settings. Witnessing cultural misunderstandings first-hand—sometimes even being mocked—motivated her to take action. ConnectedCulture became her way of transforming frustration into impact.

Support

We asked Henna, what support from the B-Enterprising team did you receive?, she told us: “I had a 1:1 a couple of months ago where I was advised to apply for the start-up fund. It was really useful having a grounded conversation about my business ideas. I have always found the B-Enterprising team extremely friendly and approachable and I look forward to talking to them more!”

Henna has been able to move the project forward while balancing her part‑time PhD and three internships. The funding has helped her bring in support for admin, marketing, and preparing educational materials—freeing up time to focus on meaningful development.

Learning Process

• Progress takes time—and celebrating smaller milestones is essential.
• Resilience matters—staying rooted in your purpose keeps you going.
• Wearing many hats is tough, but the learning curve is worth it.

ConnectedCulture continues to grow alongside Henna’s PhD research into feelings of alienation within mental health care. Her long‑term ambition is for ConnectedCulture to become more than a business—a movement that shifts how we think about culture, community, and care.

 

Inspired by Henna’s journey?
Explore how B‑Enterprising can support you in turning your ideas into something real. Whether you're just curious or ready to launch, our team is here to help.

Enterprising Futures: Connect Create Collaborate

The B-Enterprising team spent their contractual volunteering time working with business studies year 12 students from Joseph Chamberlain College (JCC) to inspire enterprise, innovation, and creativity. Using our skills and expertise in programme and event coordination, we delivered an event where students generated ideas to build a commercially viable tropical island, addressing sustainability issues and real-world problems. Students built their teamwork and presentation skills through sharing their ideas to a group of judges to win the grand prize. 

Students from the B-Enterprising Student Enterprise Ambassador (SEA) programme and the Outreach Officer programme, were on hand to deliver excellent support throughout the day. JCC students asked them questions about university life and worked with them to grow their ideas. 

The afternoon saw our very own University of Birmingham entrepreneurs deliver talks about their ventures and experiences. SEA Alex Perry, spoke about the setbacks of pursuing the niche industry lego art design, along with the triumphs when sales finally land. Elevate and Female Founder programme runner-up Abi Edmunds, discussed her business Social Media Resilience and the dangers of doom scrolling (something we can all relate to!). She spoke at depths about the barriers she had to overcome to build confidence in the venture, but also herself.  

The students at staff from JCC had inquisitive questions for our entrepreneurs: 

• “Would you give up your degree to do this full time?” 
• “How do I stop procrastinating?” 
• “What was your biggest challenge?” 
• “How much money do you make?” 

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JCC staff feedback stated: 

• “They (the students) were very engaged. The session allowed them to be creative and is different to their everyday learning.” 
• “I would definitely bring my students to an event like this again” 
• “The day was well structured and the content was appropriate.” 
• “It is great to bring the students to UoB. They get to see they students having lunch, going about their everyday lives. This lets them see that one day they too could come here.” 

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JCC students feedback outlined: 

• 92% agreed that the day met their expectations 
• 84% agreed that the skills, knowledge, and insights gained were useful
• 88% agreed that they would recommend the programme to friends and colleagues 

 

It was inspirational to see young entrepreneurial minds at work and the impact the day had on those involved. Hopefully, one day soon we will see some of the students wandering around the campus searching for their lecture room, walking under Old Joe (definitely not when the bell is chiming) or maybe even taking part in another B-Enterprising activity. Who knows what the future may hold. With our help, it could B-enterprising… 

 

From Farm to Flat White: Kahawa Roots Brewing Change

At B-Enterprising, entrepreneurship isn’t just about starting a business—it’s about creating impact. Kahawa Roots UK LTD is a shining example of this ethos. Founded by MSc Sustainable Innovation and Entrepreneurship students Rupal Karar and Cetric Mululu, Kahawa Roots is more than a coffee company; it’s a movement for fairness, sustainability, and transparency in the global coffee trade.

A Vision Born from Experience ☕

The idea for Kahawa Roots began with a simple but powerful observation: Kenyan smallholder farmers produce some of the world’s finest Arabica coffee, yet they often earn very little due to intermediaries and lack of traceability. Cetric, who grew up in Kenya, saw this disparity first hand. Years later, at the University of Birmingham, he met Rupal, and together they decided to change the narrative.

Their mission? To connect farmers directly with conscious consumers and UK roasters, ensuring fair prices, premium quality, and sustainable practices. Kahawa Roots owns and integrates every step of the process—from farming and processing to export and delivery—creating a transparent supply chain that empowers farmers and protects biodiversity.

Support from B-Enterprising

"We received valuable support from the B-Enterprising team during the early stages of Kahawa Root's development. Their guidance helped us refine our business model, connect with relevant networks, and access resources tailored for social enterprises. Overall, B-Enterprising played a key role in shaping our strategy and accelerating our progress towards launching a mission-driven coffee business" - Rupal

Kahawa Roots received the £500 Start-Up Fund grant, as well as accessing Business Start-Up Advice.

Where They Are Now

Kahawa Roots has already established operations in Kenya, partnering with over 2,000 smallholder farmers. They’re in advanced talks with UK specialty roasters and working on certifications and a digital traceability platform to scale their impact. Their goal is clear: measurable social and environmental change, aligned with global sustainability goals. 

They have also secured a place on this years UoB Elevate at The Exchange cohort, check out their profile.

A Brew with Purpose 🍵

Kahawa Roots isn’t just about coffee—it’s about creating a fairer, greener future. Every cup tells a story of resilience, adaptability, and community empowerment. As Rupal says, success isn’t just about having a great idea; it’s about persistent execution and listening to the communities you serve.

Read more about Kahawa Roots by visiting their website.