A network that uplifts
Meaningful introductions and relationships that make professional spaces feel closer.
Mentorship rooted in lived experience
Your ambition deserves a network.
Zaliha Collective helps South Asian students from working-class backgrounds enter professional careers with confidence, clarity and people in their corner.
Guidance · Belonging · Opportunity
Why Zaliha exists
Talent is everywhere. Access is not.
Too many students are expected to decode professional spaces alone — without the networks, role models or unwritten knowledge others inherit.
We create a safe and relatable space where guidance is personalised, culturally aware and grounded in experience. No jargon. No judgement. Just practical support from someone who understands the journey.
What we build together
More than advice. A sense of possibility.
Guidance that feels real
Honest conversations about applications, confidence, workplace culture and setbacks.
A space to be yourself
Culturally aware mentorship where lived experience is understood, not explained.
The mentorship scheme
Six months. One hour a month. Lasting direction.
We thoughtfully match UK undergraduate students aged 18–22 with South Asian professionals based on career interests, shared context and where possible, ethnicity and gender.
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Founded with purpose
Meet Maliha & Zarin.
Co-founder
Maliha Hussain
An LSE postgraduate whose experience across policy and public affairs revealed how strongly networks and unwritten rules shape access.
Co-founder
Zarin Khan
A first-generation King’s College London graduate and digital strategist committed to improving social mobility and representation.
Start a conversation
There’s a place for you in this collective.
Whether you want to find a mentor, volunteer your experience or support our work, we’d love to hear from you.