Muslim entrepreneurs greet Trump’s triumph with mix of fear and resolve

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore.

Hours after Donald Trump’s shock US election victory, entrepreneurs who are Muslim are feeling scared and bemused.

“[Trump’s win] is definitely scary – and I feel that is applicable for all the minorities he’s been bashing,” says Waqas Ali, a startup founder from Pakistan now based in Silicon Valley. “It’s clear a large part of the US doesn’t welcome or care for immigrants, including Muslims.”

With Trump now 71 days from his inauguration as 45th President of the United States, entrepreneurs are pondering how it will affect business and tech in America.

I was quite shocked. Like… really, America?

During his campaign, Trump vowed to ban Muslims from entering and to clamp down hard on the H-1B skilled worker programme. Silicon Valley will find it harder to recruit talented engineers from abroad, and founders looking to shift their businesses to the US might have their plans disrupted.

“I feel sad, very sad. Not just for myself but for many American people too who have worked hard for equality and tolerance in their own country,” added Waqas, who’s the co-founder of Markhor.

Plans in disarray

Similar nervousness was echoed by other entrepreneurs that Tech in Asia talked to moments after Trump’s trouncing of Hillary Clinton.

“I was quite shocked. Like… really, America?” said Gibran Huzaifa, co-founder of Efishery.

“But I’m a glass half-full kind of guy. So, after I heard the news, I feel that if someone like Trump, a very unlikely figure, can be president of the strongest country in the world, then my startup idea – as crazy as it is – can succeed too,” he stated.

Photo credit: startupstockphotos.com

Sameer Khan, co-founder of SocialChamp, is left wondering how his impending trip to the US might be affected.

“I’m in talks with many experts from the Valley and the next few months are very crucial. We have all heard about the plan Donald Trump has for Muslims, but I wonder whether those comments were just to gain votes. If the government imposes any law that bans our entry it will definitely affect my startup,” he explains.

Hope