An unusual way to hold up and nourish your culture on foreign soil

Experts opine that human beings originated from the African continent and migrated to all corners of the world. They settled down, adapted according to their surroundings and developed civilizations many millenniums ago. Likewise, in today’s globalized world, people from all countries leave their birthplace and migrates to some other country for a wide variety of reasons. People with African origin are not an exception to this phenomenon. It has been observed that Africans often migrate to other continents, especially to North America, Europe and Australia, for better exposure and opportunities.

Intermingling of people from diverse backgrounds and ethnicity helps in creating a vibrant culture. We, as a society, learn to accept different perspectives and increase our tolerance. That is why all multinational companies exert conscious effort to maintain a healthy mix of people from different backgrounds. However, to maintain their distinction, culture and uniqueness in a society where they are minority is an uphill task for Africans. In fact, they must not sacrifice their virtues and try to become someone which they are not, as this will defeat the very purpose of maintaining cultural diversity in a society.

But in order to be able to do that, Africans need a support system that will act as a lifeline for their culture. In discrete terms, they need a steady supply chain from where they can source their traditional dresses, buy food according to their food habit and procure other elements of their tradition, so as to lead life in their preferred way. However, it is not feasible to import indigenous items from the African mainland at a retail rate because of the costs involved.

Another possible option is to set up stores at different locations, especially in those localities where there is a high concentration of African population. But there is a major loophole in that approach; setting up of a brick and mortar retail store in a foreign location is infrastructure intensive and also costly, thus making it difficult for entrepreneurs with budgetary constraints to set up such stores. Besides, it is a monumental task to expand the business and add new category of items, when analysed in the context of a conventional store.

So, is it possible to address all these difficulties and provide a comprehensive solution? Thanks to the emergence and growing popularity of ecommerce websites, it is quite possible! An African online shop is the perfect answer to most of the concerns raised in the discussion. To begin with, the infrastructure overhead is minimized in an online store, along with the problem of adding more items and categories for sale in the website. Secondly, it is extremely easy to launch internet based ventures and shut them down if things do not go as planned. Thirdly, Africans can access the websites from anywhere in the world and shop items, the only thing they would require is an internet connection. Lastly, an African online shop will spare Africans from driving all the way to stores from their homes and workplaces, thus saving precious time and energy, thus freeing up more t6ime to catch up with friends and family.