Leaders

Authentic leadership is defined by purpose and impact. Sarah Hashwani exemplifies this through a lifelong commitment to sustainable social change, women’s empowerment, and responsible business. From an early age, service to others shaped her worldview, guiding a career across continents rooted in value creation.

Sarah studied finance and philosophy at the University of St. Thomas in the United States, where questions of purpose and legacy became central to her professional journey. At just 20, she assumed responsibility within her family foundation, later joining the family business in Pakistan. There, she developed expertise in strategic growth, corporate governance, and integrating social impact across multiple sectors.

Beyond corporate leadership, Sarah became the first female president of TiE Islamabad, a global nonprofit supporting entrepreneurship through mentoring, networking, education, and funding. Her tenure focused on strengthening women-led startups and social ventures. She also served as a cultural ambassador for the Aga Khan Museum across the Gulf and South Asia from 2016 to 2022. During the pandemic, she co-founded Rubber Plastech in the UAE, bringing together sustainable manufacturing and innovation.

How did your journey in non-profits and the family business begin?

From a young age, I was driven by the idea of serving humanity. My time in the U.S. deepened my understanding of how purpose and enterprise can create meaningful change. While still a student, I registered our family foundation as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, laying the groundwork for long-term community empowerment, particularly for women and youth.

Although initially hesitant to join the family business, my father encouraged me to study finance to understand the corporate world. In 2008, I formally joined the business, working closely with him on governance, succession planning, and embedding social responsibility into operations. Balancing leadership in both the private and nonprofit sectors allowed me to drive change at scale.

A pivotal example was my role as founding President of TiE Islamabad. Over 14 years, I helped build bridges between corporate and social sectors, creating an ecosystem of mentorship, networking, and support for women entrepreneurs and emerging businesses.

Having led Hashoo Foundation, how did you empower women and create lasting social impact?

At Hashoo Foundation, our focus was on self-reliance rather than short-term aid. We began with early childhood development, supporting education for over 800 children across 52 villages in northern Pakistan. While impactful, we soon realized education alone was insufficient without strengthening household incomes.

This led us to livelihoods, with a strong emphasis on women entrepreneurs. Our flagship Women Empowerment through Honey Bee Farming initiative set up in 2007, built a supply chain of over 1,200 women farmers, linking them to corporate and retail markets. Women received enterprise training, resulting in 30 women-led companies and independent brands.

Education remained central. We supported more than 850 university scholarships for marginalized youth from remote mountain communities with many young women becoming the first in their villages to attend university. To improve access and retention, especially for girls, we established youth development centers, safe boarding facilities, and life-skills and leadership programs.

Across all initiatives, women and youth were positioned not as beneficiaries, but as economic and social agents driving long-term resilience and inclusive growth.

What led you to co-found Rubber Plastech?

During the pandemic, I reflected on the next phase of my journey. Having lived in the UAE for over 15 years and worked closely with hospitality, I saw an opportunity in locally manufacturing reusable food-grade plastic products.

I met my business partner, Anas Nasser, whose experience supplying foodservice trays to airline caterers revealed a market gap: frequent product breakages caused by poor-quality imported materials. Drawing on his expertise in industry and mold-making, Anas developed custom molds, sourced premium raw materials, and began manufacturing locally.

This highlighted a broader opportunity, the absence of a quality-first manufacturer of reusable foodservice products in the Middle East and Africa. Aligned with the UAE’s Operation 300Bn industrial strategy, Rubber Plastech was founded in 2022 to serve regional and global markets.

For me, Rubber Plastech represents purposeful manufacturing: durable alternatives to single-use plastics that generate economic, social, and environmental value.

How does Rubber Plastech adopt sustainable materials and ESG practices?

As a young and agile company, Rubber Plastech is built on quality, responsibility, and future readiness. We source high-grade materials from global suppliers such as LG, Mitsubishi, Borouge, and SABIC, ensuring safety, durability, and compliance.

Our products serve industrial kitchens and meal services, requiring strict standards for food safety, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. We are actively testing low-carbon and carbon-negative materials, including a cutting board designed to produce zero microplastics while maintaining hygiene and performance.

Operationally, we prioritize low-carbon sourcing, recycle water and oil during manufacturing, and follow circular lifecycle principles. Virgin materials are used for food-grade products, recycled materials for nonfood-contact items, and we are launching a collect-back program with clients and partners to recover and recycle end-of-life products.

Rubber Plastech is also rated by EcoVadis, providing independent ESG benchmarking across environmental, social, and governance performance.

What’s the roadmap ahead for Rubber Plastech?

The plastics industry is rapidly evolving due to climate concerns, regulations, and corporate sustainability commitments. Our roadmap is anchored in advancing the circular economy, with a focus on recycling, reuse, and research into bio-based and biodegradable materials.

Circular design guides our operations, where waste from one product stream becomes input for another, reducing environmental impact and improving efficiency. Data, technology, and AI support smarter product development, while ESG metrics, certifications, and client feedback shape innovation.

Beyond manufacturing, social responsibility remains centra at Rubberplastech. Through partnerships with charitable organizations, we look to extend the utility of our products and contribute positively to communities.

Sarah Hashwani , Co-Founder,  Rubber Plastech

Sarah Hashwani is the Co-Founder of Rubber Plastech, UAE. She is known for incorporating environmentally friendly innovation with a business and community development approach focused on the triple bottom line. She started her charity work as a child and at the age of 20 she took a leadership role of the family foundation.