Malaika was founded in 2004 by Margarita Andrade and Goya Gallagher who, after growing up in their native Ecuador, found themselves living and settling in Egypt. With a background in design and a keen interest in embroidery, crochet and hand-drawn thread work, they decided to utilise Egyptian cotton to produce high quality bed linen previously not available in the local market.

At the heart of its business model, Malaika focuses on teaching hand embroidery to local women giving them a chance to learn a valuable skill and improve their economic standing.