This Time For Africa… Celebrate Africa Day Today!

What a song. What a singer. What a continent!

When Shakira sang “Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)” at the 2010 FIFA World Cup a decade ago, it hit the charts straight away. Even today, my kid is learning to sing and dance to this hit song in school. The words translate as follows: “tsamina” = “come”, “waka” = “do it” and “tsamina mina zangalewa” = “where do you come from?” In the context of soccer, the song lyrics “encourage one to aim for their goals like a soldier on a battlefield,” according to Wikipedia.

Formerly known as “African Freedom Day” and “African Liberation Day,” Africa Day is the yearly commemoration of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963. Put simply, it is a day to celebrate Africa’s development. If you have friends or family from one of the 54 member states in the African Union, go ahead and wish them “Happy Africa Day”!

Here in Beijing, we can celebrate Africa Day by supporting two African-inspired expat entrepreneurs. The first is Chariots Handmaydz, a handmade fashion and jewelry business created by Tina Makuku to promote African culture, as well as support her charity efforts back in Africa.

“Plenty of marginalized women have been deprived of a formal education, hence we put our blood, sweat, and tears into enlightening these women to build their own businesses. Chariots provides heartfelt support to empower these women via empowerment workshops and conferences,” Makuku says.

Our second Africa Day business in the spotlight is Africa Supply Nest, a one-of-a-kind African retail shop that offers authentic 100% African-made products and services ranging from food to crafts here in China. Expat mompreneur Polina Gumbu owns the business along with her husband, and their family will be relocating in the summer. To kill two birds with one stone, they are holding a mega sale on their best-selling products in the Wakanaka skincare range, including shea butter, body butter, and natural oils such as sweet almonds.