Afripreneur
African Diaspora: The face behind the only Black woman founded and led ice cream brand in Amsterdam
African Diaspora, Nekeia Boone is a senior UX and tech manager turned ice cream entrepreneur. Originally from Harlem, NYC, she created her brand, Tudy’s Kitchen in the midst of a burnout, family tragedies, personal health issues and a pandemic. Named after her Grandma Tudy, she dedicate this brand as a legacy to all that she did for others – and in gratitude to all that she’s done for her. Tudy’s Kitchen is a Black woman founded and led ice cream brand based in Amsterdam. Their flavors are a delightful surprise, turning traditions right side up. Sweet and savory is umami heaven in their book – and often the star of the show in their handmade desserts.
Tudy’s Kitchen is using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, while creating business opportunities for underrepresented groups. Particularly womxn and people of color, is at the heart of what they do. As such, Tudy’s Kitchen has a strong bias to collaborate with people who come from these groups. And partner with entities who believe in these values, to help them build their brand.
Achievements
In just a few months, they have taken production literally from her kitchen into Kitchen Republic, a startup space aimed at helping food and drink entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses.
Currently, Tudy’s Kitchen is sold at Sterk Amsterdam, a speciality shop with a host of unique international products. And coming soon, they hope to kickstart their own webshop, along with having their products available on a variety of delivery apps.
The above have already proven useful in helping them scale up production, gain greater brand awareness, and attach new customers. But limited funding has created several roadblocks in helping them fully realize these efforts.
Goals and timeline
In the first six months of launch, they’ve established two key goals:
- Create brand identity and establish awareness.
- Tap into opportunities that allow them to scale.
Their approach to scaling this business leverages the small-step philosophy. They are currently doing this by:
- Setting small, measurable and achievable goals.
- Quick roll out of product to the market.
- Gathering data from customers to validate their efforts.
- Then iterating, improving and rolling out again.
In taking this approach, they envision success at the end of the six-month period to include, but not limited to:
- Boosting sales, having reached their target audience via multiple platforms (e.g. food delivery apps, new retail locations, Tudy’s Kitchen webshop).
- Building their social media following to a minimum of 1000 new followers.
- Increasing number of mentions in publications (e.g. digital or print), influencer pages (e.g. food bloggers), and/or other marketing mediums, creating an uplift in brand awareness and sales.
- Expanding the team to include support staff (sous chef, cleaning crew, dedicated delivery service), more creatives (designers, writers, stylists), and operations (financial planning/analysis, logistics, strategists).
- Generating enough data (e.g. via surveys, product reviews/feedback, etc) to establish goals for the following six-month period.
- Creating financial stability for the brand to cover operational costs (e.g. rent, equipment, etc) and to pay the many volunteers the money they deserve for helping us get this far.
Let’s keep that momentum going strong and help them African Diaspora bring it home! Support her
Harris M was created by Congolese entrepreneur Harris Mayoukou, Harris M. is a young fashion and accessories brand inspired by the bustling streets of Château Rouge, a colourful district of Paris. This project is above all a family story that begins with a sewing machine belonging to the great uncles of the designer in Congo. A machine that was offered to his father in the 70s and that the latter offered him in turn at the launch of the brand. Moreover, she still uses it today in the production of pieces in her Parisian workshop.
Coming from a family of artists and talented couturiers, Harris was keen to carry on this family legacy through his brand Harris M. She makes it a point of honor to take only fabrics produced in Africa in order to support the crafts and printing works still present. The brand offers accessories and casual wear mixed clothing, comfortable and quality. The founder defines the brand in 3 words: KANDA which means family in lari. Because she wanted to perpetuate one of her father’s first jobs.
Harris took her first classes in a very small workshop in Montreuil in order to keep this practice in the family and keep this precious link. Then PASSION because all the pieces are made according to the desires and the favorites. Finally ETHICAL, because it tries to ensure that small craftsmen, whether they are in France or in Africa, continue to be paid at the right price
APINAPI is a social business focused on zero waste and symbolizes the meeting between France and Senegal. It all began in 2010, when Marina Gning and Jeanne-Aurélie Delaunay founded the company APINAPI in Paris, with the aim of democratizing washable diapers and natural baby products. After 10 years working in the cinema industry, they wanted to raise awareness about washable nappies and natural care products for babies.
During her travels in Senegal with her husband, Marina finds that the products she offers in France are perfectly suited for Senegal. Indeed, she sees how plastic waste litters the streets of the country, especially disposable diapers. These, which were a few years ago a “luxury product”, have become very accessible with the arrival of low-end brands.
These layers, of poor quality, give irritation and are not reliable. The family budget is reduced and women with low incomes use a single diaper for their baby all day! By offering washable diapers to her sister-in-law in Dakar, Marina sees how much easier her life is: less redness, less expense, less waste. In addition, the diapers were a great success with the friends of the young mother.
The trigger is born from there. What if these washable diapers were the solution? In 2015, she got fully into the project with her partner, her husband and Marianne Varale. The team was born, and in 2016 Marina and her husband decided to sell their apartment in France to settle in Senegal and launch ApiAfrique.
Today, ApiAfrique is a Senegalese social enterprise, which offers innovative, local and environmentally friendly solutions for the hygiene of women and babies. Its vision is to promote sustainable solutions that contribute to women’s empowerment, waste reduction, the fight against exclusion and job creation.
Douce mélanine Founders
N’dioba DIONGUE and Astou diongue, two French-Senegalese mothers have both had bad experiences with baby cosmetics products that contain potentially dangerous or allergenic substances. Looking for a solution, they found out that products adapted to black and mixed-race children can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Following these bad personal experiences, they decide to react and remedy them by offering healthy products, especially for babies. This is because they are fragile. The beginnings were not simple: market research, business plan, search for formulators, etc. It took several months before they could find a lab to work with. Not being in the trade, they also had to train in formulation.
Douce mélanine was born in 2018, with the aim of offering a range of care products with 98% natural ingredients, traditionally used in Africa for baby care. The goal is to transmit care rituals with products from the African pharmacopoeia. For example, we can find touloucouna oil, with unsuspected virtues which is relaxing and is used in Africa for infant massage. A necessary return to the roots, to allow babies to enjoy all the benefits of this treatment with ancestral oils.
Then in 2020, as for many entrepreneurs, the coronavirus came knocking on the doorbell. After several questioning and restructuring, they decided to stay the course. New tests are carried out, formulas are retouched, and the adventure resumes in 2021 to never stop. Today, Douce Mélanine has made her way and has found her place in many bathrooms all over the world.
DOUCE MÉLANINE fights every day to offer mothers products with healthy compositions. Its products are formulated and manufactured by a French laboratory certified Ecocert and COSMOS. Without perfumes, tested under dermatological control and composed of ingredients from the African pharmacopoeia, babies will appreciate its care which will bring softness, hydration and relaxation.
