The Sharefunding Arena – From sausage roll to bakery: how Kadir made his funding Sharia-compliant
Long-read inspired by the Eyevestor podcast The Sharefunding Arena, in which founder Gijs Dalen Meurs talks with food entrepreneur Kadir Ahmed.
Introduction
A Brabant sausage roll. That’s where it all began.
For most people just a snack, but for Kadir Ahmet it became the start of an entrepreneurial journey that took him past supermarkets, shareholders, near-bankruptcy, and eventually his own halal bakery.
What makes his story unique? Not just the speed at which his brand grew, but above all the way he managed to finance his company. Sharia-compliant, interest-free, with community.
In this episode, Kadir shares how he turned his dreams into reality, the obstacles he faced along the way, and why his funding campaign delivered not only capital but also credibility.
🎧 Prefer listening over reading? Watch the full podcast here on YouTube or listen here on Spotify:
From side job to own brand
Kadir came to the Netherlands from Somalia as a baby and grew up in Brabant. Entrepreneurship was always in his DNA: from trading flippos and marbles to helping out at his grandmother’s market stall. Still, he first chose to study retail management. After the 2008 financial crisis, it was difficult to find a job, so he started his career at Bakkersland and later at Sligro. There he learned how to structure processes, deal with customers, and how important data is.
Those years as an employee were valuable. But entrepreneurship kept calling. In 2014, Kadir baked his first halal sausage rolls. For Muslims in the Netherlands, there was no alternative to the traditional pork-filled roll. It turned out to be a gap in the market.
From that moment on, the ball was rolling. First batches of 500, sold via social media. Then scaling up, collaborating with bakers, fixing recipes, and ultimately building a brand. In 2019 he made the leap: quitting his job and becoming a full-time entrepreneur.
The harsh reality of growth
Entrepreneurship is never a straight line upward. For Kadir, COVID-19 nearly meant the end. A shareholder dropped out, margins came under pressure, and tensions arose with suppliers over prices. Banks were no option: Islamic finance means interest is off-limits.
“Everyone said: pull the plug. But that’s easy to say. I had already come too far.”
That period taught him that growth brings not only opportunities but also pain. New customers such as Dirk van den Broek and later Albert Heijn provided traction, but without a solid financial foundation, every success is fragile.
Funding as turning point
The search for capital brought Kadir to Eyevestor. Equity-based funding fit seamlessly with the principles of Islamic Finance: no interest, but shared profit and loss.
The campaign, however, was like top-level sport. Visibility had to be earned every single day. PR was used strategically and urgency was created.
The result:
- First phase: over 200 investors, together contributing more than €300,000.
- Summer dip: campaign stalled due to holidays and lack of physical proof.
- Decisive moment: signing a property lease and a looming funding deadline of December 31.
That last step proved the breakthrough. In the final month, investments poured in, and Kadir closed the campaign with €850,000 from 400 investors.
Lesson 1: Never give up
Funding requires a mindset that doesn’t fit into spreadsheets. You have to believe in your own story, even when others call you crazy.
“From day one I believed this could become big. If you don’t have that, you quit at the first setback.”
That conviction gave him the energy to keep going, to pick up the phone, and to hold hundreds of conversations – even when the chances of success seemed minimal.
Lesson 2: Prepare your PR
A campaign without a story is a campaign without an audience. Kadir used PR smartly, even before the first euro was raised. His slogan “1 million in 1 million seconds” made national headlines and generated free publicity you simply can’t buy.
That visibility built trust. Investors saw an entrepreneur who not only got his brand into supermarket shelves but also into the media. It made the step to investing much smaller.
Lesson 3: Dare to take risks
Perhaps the boldest step was signing the lease for the bakery – while the funding wasn’t yet secured.
“Looking back now, it still makes me break out in a sweat. But without that courage, we wouldn’t be here.”
This is exactly the kind of entrepreneurship where many campaigns fail: waiting until everything is certain. Kadir proved that belief and bold action, however risky, often make the difference.
Why this story matters
Kadir’s journey shows that funding is more than raising capital. It’s about building credibility, engaging a community, and letting investors feel they are part of something bigger.
His campaign also proved that Sharia-compliant financing is possible in the Netherlands – and that there is a huge group of entrepreneurs who fall through the cracks with traditional banks.
Conclusion
Funding requires courage, transparency, and preparation. But above all, perseverance.
Kadir perhaps sums it up best:
“Food you share tastes twice as good. Knowledge you share makes everyone wiser.”
🎧 Listen to the episode with Kadir and discover how to bring your community along in funding – even when banks shut the door. Watch the full podcast here on YouTube or listen here on Spotify:
The Sharefunding Arena is more than a podcast title; it’s an invitation to rewrite the rules of the game and to share the value of your company with the people most motivated to drive that value further.
Background on the title: The Sharefunding Arena
The Sharefunding Arena is for every entrepreneur who wants to grow and succeed. For the entrepreneur who is the misfit, the crazy one, the man or woman in the arena.
115 years ago, Theodore Roosevelt gave a speech that became famous for one paragraph, known as the man in the arena. Google it and you’ll find the quote. Below is Eyevestor’s free translation anno 2025.
It’s not about the people on the sidelines. Not about the critics, the complainers, or those who know exactly how you should have done things differently or better – but never take action themselves. The real honor belongs to you, the one who dares and keeps going.
You, who stand in the arena, sweat on your forehead and sleepless nights from work and worry. Who fail, fall, get back up and move on. Not because it’s easy, but because it matters. Maybe you win. Maybe you don’t. But at least you fought. With spirit, with passion, with everything you have. And even if you lose, you do so with your head held high – because you tried. Better to fail trying than to stay safe on the sidelines. Because there – in that arena – is where it happens. That’s where we grow. That’s where we make a difference.
Every day, entrepreneurs work on their passion and especially on the acute SME challenges and problems that need solving. Funding your growth is, time and again, in every phase, the biggest challenge. How do you hold your ground as man or woman in The Sharefunding Arena?
To finance your growth, you need preparation, connection, and moments of fire and celebration. The ultimate way to do this is by strengthening your own equity. Only then are there other possibilities to grow, to finance, and to connect.
We’ll discuss what it takes.
The Sharefunding Arena is for every entrepreneur who wants to grow. In 30–40 minutes, we dive into a specific theme or the entrepreneur’s story each episode. No superficial chats, but sharp insights from entrepreneurs and experts.