About the Expo
The Africa Expo exists to inform and educate the public about the beauty, breath and depth of Africa and people of African descent everywhere. We do this by offering seminars that teach about African culture and history in all its global iterations and by encouraging economic mobility through the invitation of entrepreneurs to promote and sell their goods and services. This intentional meeting of the marketplace and the classroom seeks to convey to our communities and the world that beyond the aesthetics of our culture are intricate histories and meaning that are worth knowing and appreciating.
The Creative
My name is Janjay Kamah Innis and I am the Founder and Executive Director of the Africa Expo.I was born in the United States to parents who blessed me by taking me to Liberia, West Africa where I spent my early childhood. In gazing at the moon and stars in the dark of night, indulging in food right from its source, playing until dusk in the warm summer sun that morphed into the gentle Atlantic evening breeze, I became attuned to the pulse of Africa. In the strong sense of family, faith and honor for the traditions of our ancestors, I carried awe and reverence for the mystery of Africa. When I think of Africa, I think of a rich place of beginning and belonging, a place that gave me roots and from those roots, an unrelenting passion and purpose has sprung forth .
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My adolescent and adult years have been spent in the United States. Growing up the United States, black culture, in all of its beauty, creativity, resilience and resistance gave me a place to belong even as I struggled to figure out what this belonging meant. Black culture on U.S. soil gave me a voice and a framework from which to audaciously raise my voice for the things I believe in.
I created The Africa Expo to use the two formative parts of me to build a bridge that connects Africa and the black diaspora and to help usher in a black global renaissance. If you believe in the positive impact this passion project of mine can and will make, let’s collaborate.
The Africa Expo's
To strengthen the global black diaspora by inspiring entrepreneurship, celebrating our collective achievements, culture and history.
The Africa Expo's
To create local and global synergy and unity among and for people of African descent.
We seek to achieve this by:
Encouraging business startups as a catalyst to abundant life.
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Facilitating networking as a means of building social and economic capital.
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Sharing the beauty of our past and present as motivation to live into our imagined future.