Something powerful is happening across the African continent, and Black American women are at the center of it. From spa sanctuaries in Accra to PR agencies in Kigali and real estate portfolios spanning multiple countries, a growing number of Black women entrepreneurs from the United States are trading the familiar hustle of American life for a different kind of opportunity — one rooted in ancestral connection, personal freedom, and the chance to build something truly their own.
The idea of returning to Africa has captured the imagination of many in the diaspora, fueled by social media, high-profile stories of relocation, and a growing desire for something beyond the American rat race. But as three women profiled by ESSENCE make clear, the reality of building a business on the continent is far more nuanced than any Instagram feed suggests — and far more rewarding than most people expect.
What It Really Takes to Build a Business in Africa as a Black American Woman
The romantic version of diaspora entrepreneurship in Africa looks beautiful from the outside. The reality, however, involves navigating unfamiliar systems, earning trust in new markets, and unlearning deeply held assumptions shaped by years of operating in the United States. For Black American women specifically, the journey often means adapting to different business cultures, working around infrastructure gaps, and building relationships from scratch in communities where they are outsiders.
Nevertheless, the women who have made this leap are unanimous in one thing: the rewards — personal and professional — make the effort worthwhile. Their stories reveal a more honest and more inspiring picture of what diaspora entrepreneurship in Africa actually looks like, one that is not simply a romantic homecoming but a genuine process of growth, adaptation, and creation.
Autumn Marie Builds a PR Agency in Rwanda’s Capital City
When communications professional autumn marie left New York City, she was not planning to launch a company. She was looking for rest. After years in the fast-paced world of American communications, she relocated first to Mauritius with her husband, who had spent over a decade living and working on the continent, before the couple eventually settled in Rwanda for his work.
What started as a career pause quickly became something else entirely. Seeing gaps in the Rwandan communications market, autumn marie drew on her professional background and founded KGL FWD — pronounced Kigali Forward — a public relations agency focused on storytelling, brand positioning, and strategic communications for businesses operating in Rwanda and across East Africa. She found the process of registering the business surprisingly accessible. “Opening a business here is actually quite accessible,” she explained. “The filing process is clear, and institutions are open to working with entrepreneurs.”
The real challenge, she noted, was not paperwork — it was trust. “It means a lot when someone trusts you with their vision or their company anywhere in the world,” she said. “But being able to build that trust here, when you’re not from here, is huge.” That trust has since allowed her agency to work with organizations including RwandAir, ONOMO Hotel, and Africa Soft Power. Her advice to other Black American women eyeing the continent is grounded and direct: “Don’t try to copy and paste the models that work in the US. Bring your skills and experiences, but be ready to learn the ways of doing business that work here.”
Maya Gilliam Creates a Wellness Sanctuary at Ma’ati Spa in Accra, Ghana
Maya Gilliam’s path to entrepreneurship in Africa was years in the making. Already a seasoned spa owner with more than a decade of experience running a successful wellness business in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, she visited Ghana and was struck by the country’s rapid development. When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted her US operations, she made the bold decision to sell her properties, build three homes in Ghana, and open Ma’ati Spa in East Legon, a suburb of Accra.
The spa has become a destination for both locals and international visitors, offering treatments rooted in Ghanaian land and culture. Fresh teas, tropical fruit, and herbs harvested directly on the property are part of the experience, creating a wellness offering that feels genuinely of the place. One of its most distinctive treatments is what Gilliam calls the waterfall massage — her own original concept. “I’m the first person to do waterfall massage in West Africa — and possibly the world,” she said. “When I created it, I searched online to see if anyone else was doing it and I didn’t find anything.”
Building that business, however, came with real lessons. Gilliam quickly discovered that her American accent made her a target for overcharging. “With my American accent, people were overcharging me constantly,” she said. “You absolutely need someone local who can negotiate on your behalf.” She eventually became a naturalized Ghanaian citizen, allowing her to fully own her business without a local partner. For Gilliam, the most fulfilling part of her work is not the business metrics — it is the atmosphere she creates for her clients. “There’s something I call the Black woman cackle,” she said with a laugh. “When Black women are relaxed and joyful together, you hear it.”
Wandi Steward Invests in Real Estate and Impact Projects Across the Continent
At 62, Wandi Steward brings a different kind of energy to Black American entrepreneurship in Africa. Dividing her time between impact work and real estate investments, she operates with a long-term vision that spans multiple countries. One of her passion projects is the Afrikan Baby Book Project, a Rwanda-based initiative aimed at increasing access to culturally relevant children’s books across Africa. “It’s not something that makes a lot of money,” she acknowledged. “But it’s something that has impact.”
Alongside that work, Steward has been building a real estate portfolio that includes land in Rwanda and an income-generating apartment in Cape Town, South Africa. Navigating property markets on the continent, she quickly learned, requires letting go of American expectations entirely. In Rwanda, she found a fluid brokerage environment where multiple commissioners might be attached to a single property — all of them negotiable and potentially requiring payment. “You have to be prepared for things to work differently,” she said. “Patience. That’s putting it nicely.”
Despite the unpredictability, Steward is deeply optimistic about what Africa offers entrepreneurs who come prepared. “Africa gives you the greatest opportunity for self-actualization or failure,” she said. “You have to have a certain amount of grit, patience, humility, and humor.” Her advice for anyone considering the move is straightforward: do thorough research, bring more financial resources than you think you will need, and integrate genuinely into the local community. “You cannot go it alone,” she said simply.
Common Lessons From Black Women Building Businesses in Africa
Across three very different businesses and three very different countries, the lessons these women have learned show striking similarities. All three emphasize the importance of deep research before making any move, adequate financial preparation, and a genuine willingness to adapt rather than impose familiar American frameworks onto entirely different environments. Each of them also stresses the irreplaceable value of local relationships and community trust.
Furthermore, all three are clear that the experience has transformed them in ways that go beyond business. Building something meaningful in a new culture, on new terms, with new rules, requires a level of self-awareness and flexibility that few environments demand as directly as entrepreneurship in Africa. Their stories are not cautionary tales — they are invitations, offered with honesty about the work involved and genuine enthusiasm for what is possible.
For Black American women watching from the diaspora and wondering whether the leap is worth it, these women offer the most credible kind of answer: the kind that comes from having actually taken it.
