NOLAFRIQUE

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The Story of Nolafrique

Nolafrique was launched a few months before I entered law school. I knew that law school would take three years but I did not want to wait three years to start making an impact in the communities that were important to me, New Orleans (NOLA) and Africa ( Afrique) = Nolafrique. I wanted to build a bridge between Africa and the Diaspora while also educating people on the connections between the two cultures, especially New Orleans.

After traveling extensively within rural Africa, I knew that I wanted to help local artisans within rural Africa connect to markets. Rural villages are filled with talented seamstresses, jewelry makers, you name it. But who will buy their products? They often live more than five hours away from the thriving cities and capitols, and tourist tend to stick in tourist destinations and towns. I instantly thought about the million people I had access to and the million resources I could connect these communities to! Nolafrique was the resource that those communities and I created together.

I initially wanted Nolafrique to be a marketplace, but shipping from rural Africa would have been an issue for those communities. We agreed on me buying buy their items in bulk and putting it on Nolafrique. 80% of the locals I work with are women, who go on to use the funds to send their children to school.

We made the business plan together, and all was left was figuring out how to pay them. I signed up for an American Express card. I literally started Nolafrique with an American Express card! No one was going to give an unemployed full-time student a business loan, and I was not willing to be told no. I took the risk, carried the debt, paid all of the local artisans, shipped the products to America, and started pushing out the hand-made merchandise from rural villages in Africa.

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