Collaborating with UAE-based architect and designer Agata Kurzela on the GAME OF LIFE piece, commissioned especially for DESIGNEAST, FBMI have begun to carve out a distinctive niche for meaningful collaboration.

The Fatima Bint Mohamed Bin Zayed Initiative (FBMI) was founded in 2010 with an aim to empower underprivileged communities with a strong focus on women, by providing them with sustainable employment and critical social services. 

The social enterprise was originally established to initiate a change in the stark realities of Afghanistan’s women and children. FBMI invests locally in healthcare, education, numerous social and economic reforms; and provides employment in the ancient art of hand-knotted carpet making. About 70% of FBMI employees are women & widows who work from home. Each employee receives free vocational training, medical care and schooling for their children.