Today we’d like to introduce you to Judy Kiagiri and Folly “Joubel” Teko.
Hi Judy Kiagiri and Folly “Joubel” Teko, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m Folly Teko, known by most as “Joubel”, and I am a Togolese entrepreneur. I came to the U.S. in the early 2000s as an international student and have called Omaha, Nebraska my home ever since. I started off my studies pursuing architecture like my dad, but I ultimately found my true vocation in graphic design after taking classes at Metro Community College (MCC). I went on to work professionally as a graphic designer for a private company, while also founding my own personal branding and marketing agency, Folly Teko Design. I love to create original design work that translates philosophies into imagery and I especially enjoy developing new designs that incorporate African iconography. I have been part of efforts to build internationally recognized brands such as “SexyTogolais”, which was adopted by Togolese citizens worldwide, and “Makassi” Energy Drink with my partners.
I love design work, but I love connecting with my community above all. I have worked for years to promote African culture and diverse experiences in Omaha. I organized and hosted the “African Experience” series at House of Loom in years past, which morphed into my existing endeavor called Omaha Diversity Experience. ODEXP brings people together from all cultures to embrace and experience the diversity that is in Omaha.
Over the years while putting on events I had always thought about doing bigger activities to help share African culture in Omaha and beyond. In 2018, I co-founded AFROMAHA with a long-time friend, to establish a platform that celebrates and showcases the creative energy and diversity of African culture. I serve as the creative director for AFROMAHA and have loved the opportunity to help many in the community see their cultures recognized and celebrated through our festival and fashion show. As part of this we have also inspired and supported others in their efforts to grow their businesses, express themselves through their art, and to connect to their culture.
I’m Judy Kiagiri and I grew up in Nairobi, Kenya and moved to the US for further studies with aspirations of becoming a performing artist. In a classic detour, I got a degree in international business from Missouri State University and forged a career over the past 16 years specializing in grant management and financial operations for non-profits. I have traveled to more than 19 countries to assist in the fiscal management and support of large-scale international development projects. In 2018, I co-founded AFROMAHA, a platform that celebrates and shares African culture through connecting people, fostering creativity, and inspiring the local African diaspora to be involved in their community.
I was a recipient with AFROMAHA co-founder and long-time friend, Joubel, of the 2018 award for community engagement from the Leadership Africa Summit, and a 2019 award for creativity from Young Black and Influential Omaha. I have served on boards and grant making committees locally. With a global mindset and belief in the richness that different cultures and perspectives can offer, I want to help build a community that embraces the power of diversity and engagement. On my “off” days, I am hanging out with family, dancing salsa, hosting get-togethers, working on my podcast, Life N’ Shenanigans, or polishing one of the number of scripts I have been developing. I love life and love to see all people express themselves through their passions.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
B.U.M.P.Y. is the road we’ve been on. Launching AFROMAHA has been filled with challenges, some of which we expected and some of which were surprises. Overall it has definitely required us to learn quickly, more like baptism by fire! The whole point of what we took on was to do something nobody had yet been able to do in our community. It’s not that it could not have been done. It’s that it is actually very hard and time consuming to put together what is needed to succeed. One of the biggest hurdles we encountered was funding, apparently you need a good chunk of money to curate well executed events, who’d have thought? Lol… the other was that we work demanding full-time jobs, and AFROMAHA is like having an additional 20-30 hour per week job, for which we were not paid at all during the first three years as it was in startup mode. We also had to start from scratch with building relationships, turning into fundraisers overnight, pursuing sponsorships to help support the events, and at times even had to cover our costs out of pocket. We have benefited greatly from a strong network of support with family and many friends who volunteered at different times to help us, whether fundraising, staffing events, or lending their perspective to a variety of different issues that arise.
Connecting with the larger African community was also a challenge, and was a responsibility we took very seriously. There are over 30,000 Africans in Nebraska, with a vast majority in the Omaha metro area, and engaging them was difficult. Communities were insular, everyone was always working, and no one was eager to make time for “frivolities” such as a festival! We had to really try to conduct outreach to different groups, and also make sure that our events were inclusive across a number of cultures.
The inaugural festival was a hair-raising experience! Over 1,000 attendees came through on a scorching Nebraska day, and despite snafus behind the scenes, it turned out to be an amazing event! We also decided to launch the African Fashion Week Omaha, and later in the year, the Afro Excellence Gala in partnership with ODEXP. There’s truly no rest for the wicked lol…We took the lessons learned at each event, and the following year saw attendance double. For the festival, there was growth of the activities and engagement, shored up by ramped up marketing through radio and television, and excitedly, there was more involvement, particularly by the younger African diaspora generation. A movement embracing cultural heritage was taking off. It was also notedly, the Year of The Return.
We were moving forward full speed ahead and had built a lot of momentum. Then COVID happened. We canceled the 2020 festival and began to pivot to online events. We started the AfromahaReads program with a monthly virtual book club and Story Time for younger kids, all centered on books by authors of African origin. We held a virtual African Fashion Week, a resounding success with regional and international designers and creatives participating, and waited along with everyone else for the time when we could gather in person again.
We deliberated returning to an in-person festival in 2021 since directed health measures for COVID were still in place, and funding was going to be a hurdle. Once the measures were lifted, we became razor focused on funding the festival. If there’s one thing the pandemic had shown us it was the importance of human connection. We were grateful to see the strong interest in the festival had remained as sponsorships and support for the festival grew. We started charging for the first time and still had record attendance with over 3,000 attendees with many out of town attendees from Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Texas and Illinois. We took extra measures to ensure everyone felt safe and had a great experience.
We are now working diligently for this year’s festival which is on track and slated for September 3rd over Labor Day weekend with thrilling performances, vendors of African food, arts, crafts, educational elements, children activities and more. We are looking forward to what will be the best festival yet.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
AFROMAHA is a platform that celebrates and showcases the creative energy and diversity of African culture. It hosts Afro Fest Omaha, the biggest annual celebration of African and Afro music, food, dance, art, and all things African culture in the Midwest. AFROMAHA also curates the African Fashion Week Omaha, and the Afro Excellence Gala in partnership with ODEXP, both annual events that draw a crowd and highlight the creative talents, and contributions of the community.
Four years later, the festival, Afro Fest Omaha, is now a mainstay attraction in Omaha, an annual draw for visitors from other states and international performers and artists. We have also continued to build upon our collaborations and work with the African Fashion Week, and the Afro Excellence Gala is always sold out.
We continue to challenge ourselves to put on the highest quality events possible, and to celebrate and share African culture while bringing people together. We are dedicated to excellent execution and providing an experience that people remember.
In addition to our own events, we now offer events management as a service. We have a stellar team made up of project managers, production professionals, and branding and marketing professionals who all work to make any event a stellar experience! We are proud to be Black owned and synonymous with African culture in Omaha.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Our supporters deserve the greatest credit. We had fantastic fiscal sponsors and advisors from the jump – they provided immeasurable guidance and smoothed our journey.
Our families and close friends have been our biggest cheerleaders. From the crack of dawn to late nights, they have sat with us for hours, providing space, food, ideas, and feedback, as we hammered away on planning details for an event.
Allies who advocated in spaces and rooms where we didn’t have access, who provided connections to both in-kind and monetary sponsorships.
Community partners who serve the needs and lifestyles of Africans in the community, many at no cost, and who come when we call.
Anonymous and named sponsors who have repeatedly chosen to support our events, and walk the talk of diversity and inclusion, to contribute to a thriving and welcoming city for all.
Our volunteers who shed blood, sweat and tears, literally – we remain deeply thankful!
Our leads – who take over areas of chaos with aplomb, and make sure things turn out alright!
The community. For acknowledging the importance of celebrating and sharing culture, and giving cultural heritage its due place, as we honor lives, stories, and histories, even as we embrace the heartland of America as our new home.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.afromaha.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afromaha
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/africancultureinomaha
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/afromaha
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/AFROMAHA
Image Credits
Tersurshima Orsar
Joseph Saaid
Happy Anani
Jake Maslo
Abiola Kosoko
Chris Holtmeier
