When the Lion is Gone | Zainab Salihijo Ahmad | TEDxMaiduguri

Entrepreneur and financial educator Zainab Salihijo Ahmad talks about how trauma, fear and survival instincts can keep shaping a person's life long after the difficult period has ended. Drawing on her own experience, she encourages viewers to question the stories they tell themselves, to pursue healing, and to take back control over their future. Her central message is that surviving is not the same as living. The talk was given at TEDxMaiduguri, an independently organized event that follows the TED conference format. Ahmad is the founder and creative director of Pink Fleur, a modest fashion brand, and works on financial literacy and community programmes.

• Personal account of how trauma and fear can persist after adversity
• Rethinking the internal stories people tell themselves
• Healing and reclaiming control over one's future
• Message: surviving is not the same as living

Drawing from her personal journey, Zainab Salihijo explores how trauma, fear, and survival instincts can continue to shape our lives long after adversity has passed. She challenges us to rethink the stories we tell ourselves, embrace healing, and reclaim the power to define our future. Her message is simple: surviving is not the same as living. Zainab Salihijo Ahmad is an entrepreneur, artist, philanthropist, and financial educator whose life’s work sits at the intersection of creativity, purpose, and empowerment. Rooted in a deep belief that lasting change begins with the individual, she has built a body of work that is as layered as it is intentional, spanning fashion, visual art, financial literacy, and community development. As the founder and creative director of Pink Fleur, Zainab has spent over fifteen years building a globally recognised modest fashion brand celebrated for its unique blend of storytelling, retail innovation, and purpose-driven design. Her creative sensibility runs deeper still, as a visual artist working in photography and colour, she occupies a quiet, instinct-led space where expression flows freely and identity speaks without explanation. A Harvard Business School-trained leader and social impact strategist, Zainab serves on the boards of the Salihijo Ahmad Foundation, FlexiSAF Foundation, and Pink Fleur Foundation, designing and leading programmes centred on education, mentorship, and dignified economic opportunity for underserved communities—including orphans and internally displaced women. Through this work, she has mentored over sixty women, helping them map purpose-driven roadmaps for their lives. She is also the creator of My Money Series and The Money Reset, a financial literacy platform dedicated to helping women build wealth with strategy, clarity, and intention. Through weekly video content and an annual masterclass, she is reshaping how women relate to money and financial independence. Currently at work on her debut book, Zainab Salihijo Ahmad continues to shape the conversation at the intersection of fashion, education, development, and ethical wealth-building, guided always by a belief that empowering one woman creates a ripple effect that transforms families, communities, and generations. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx