A chance to support and celebrates entrepreneurial diversity in the Outaouais region
In light of Black History Month, Black Business Ottawa-Gatineau hosted Unifest, a chance to discover and support Afro entrepreneurs in the Outaouais.
Djeneba Dosso
A celebration of Afro excellence and unity, Unifest was held at la Maison du Citoyen on Jan. 10. Adding a twist to traditional exhibitions, the event was an opportunity to support passionate entrepreneurs through the purchase of unique items or the tasting of Authentic, savory cuisine. From 10:00am to 4:00pm, eventgoers could explore Valentine’s Day gifts, hear unique stories about one of a kind items, participate in raffles and network with Black businesspeople all in the tapestry of rich multicultural music.
The brains behind this expo are sisters Diarra and Ami Nuwamé, co-founders of Black Business Ottawa-Gatineau. The pair had been autonomous workers since 2013, when Ami launched Black Business in 2022 as a platform to promote Black news, events and advertisement for the Outaouais region.
As entrepreneurs, the sisters often attended job fairs and markets in Gatineau and Ottawa, but Diarra says she couldn’t shake feelings of alienation within the area of business.
“As entrepreneurs of African descent especially, but also as immigrants we are isolated,” she said. “We have a lot of roadblocks; first you have culture shock, then loneliness, lack of information and misunderstandings.”
She points to incomprehensibility as a big cause of discouragement for entrepreneurs. “The people from the region don’t actually understand where we are from,” and so they often assume that newcomers will know how to navigate certain situations the same way natives do. Often disregarding that what may be evident for them is completely foreign and requires a learning curve for others.
“My sister and I often spoke about this and how we felt alone as entrepreneurs. We realized that we are not alone, because the more we talked with the people in our community, the more we realized we weren’t the only ones feeling like this.”
They wanted to create a space for Black creatives who are business-savvy to come and learn from each other while pushing one another to reach their respective goals. This is how Black Business Ottawa-Gatineau—a platform to promote Black entrepreneurs in Outaouais was born in 2023.
Shifting from their original business model, the sisters became hands-on players rather than sources of communication about the happenings in the Black community. “We provide networking opportunities, visibility, economic growth and contribute to strengthening of the local economy while encouraging our Black entrepreneurs.”
They now organize job fairs and exhibitions catered to Black businesses in partnership with local organizations. Unifest which was their first event of the year saw a great turnout.
“We quickly realized that getting exhibitors would be a lot easier than we anticipated,” Diarra said. “When we made our post, we saw the demand and we rapidly watched tables fill up. We are still receiving messages from entrepreneurs who’d like to join us up to now.”
Lina, the Hot Pepper Lady launched her self-titled business years ago but only started growing it consistently in 2021. She grows her own produce in her organic garden during the summer months to meticulously crafts small-batch hot sauces, oils and spices in the winter. Bringing flavours from back home to the Outaouais, she collects and grows international seeds to create a “harmonious symphony of tastes.”
“It’s important to get the Black community to support Black entrepreneurs,” she said. “A lot of times, we don’t even know there’s a particular entrepreneur that’s doing something that we’re looking for. I will look and look and look and then I’ll settle for something else.”
The Hot Pepper Lady, who makes it her mission to attend as many exhibitions as possible, strives to buy Black.
“My first thought when supporting a business is to find for somebody who is understanding of where I am coming from. I want somebody who gets it. It’s a lived experience and it’s a common field.”
As a Black businessowner she also appreciates the format of these exhibitions which are very familiar. “You know, back home our markets are open spaces, you set up and the crowd comes in for some shopping. It’s important to have community.”
The 20 exhibitors ranged from jewelry makers, photographers, realtors, tailors, skincare and cosmetic retailers to spice curators.
The youngest exhibitor this year was 17 years old Shama, who started her snow cone and cotton-candy business a year prior to reaching out to Black Business Ottawa-Gatineau.
“It can be scary to get started, but we encourage entrepreneurship within the youth because they’re the future,” Diarra said. “I found it absolutely incredible to watch her undertake this challenge with all the courage she has.”
The feedback from the community was overwhelmingly positive. Many reached out the sisters to personally tell them that ‘This is the kind of things we need within the community.’”
Diarra and Ami are excited to continue elevating Black businesses one expo at a time.
“We’re so creative, we’re so hardworking, we have so much to offer. We just need the opportunity and time.”
Photo captions:
1.) Born in Haiti, Zinice of Zinice Créations is a designer and painting. She creates customs and ready-to-wear traditional clothing. Her designs, all have a twist as she uses her clothes as a canvas. Each piece has hand painted art, which she creates using inspiration from Haiti.
2.) Lina, the Hot Pepper Lady showing her display of handcrafted small-batch hot sauces.
3.) Unifest, organized by Black Business Ottawa-Gatineau was held at la Maison du Citoyen on Jan. 10. The exhibition was chance to celebrate and showcase the entrepreneurial diversity in the Outaouais region.
Photo credit: Djeneba Dosso
