1s5 Person Africa
How Aduke Africa is Encouraging You to Visit Africa Through the Lens of Benin By Ayah A.
M
eet Adébissi Bello, the founder of Aduke Africa. The 28-year-old financial analyst is a Benenise and French national born in Benin Republic. Adébissi moved to Paris at age nine, which is where she primarily grew up and is currently based. “I belong to the Yoruba African ethnic group from Benin and Nigeria mainly,” she told Travel Noire. “I’ve always loved traveling and have always been curious about discovering new amazing places in the world, and gaining international experience.” Aduke Africa originally started as a travel blog to share Adébissi’s experience as an expat in the U.S. while she spent two years living in Miami. However, since the beginning of 2021, she has been working to refocus her brand. Now, Aduke Africa is focused on helping Western-based millennials with African-born parents gain a deeper connection to their country of origin. “Due to them living in Western countries, there is often a disconnect between these individuals and their home country. Many of them feel overwhelmed when they think about traveling to Africa. We support them by providing positive resources and tools along with grounding travel experiences to inspire them to start their own journey towards gaining a deeper connection to Africa at their own pace.” The mission of Aduke Africa revolves around changing the narrative of tourism in Africa by
encouraging these African millennials, through the lens of the Benin Republic, to tackle their doubts about traveling to Africa and place more African countries on their travel bucket list, starting with their origin countries. Adébissi’s primary inspiration behind the decision to repurpose her brand in this manner were her personal experiences and journey as an African woman living in France. “I have lived most of my life in Europe and have enjoyed traveling in Europe and internationally. I am always curious about a country’s history and culture and love visiting museums and exhibitions, but grew tired of finding myself unrepresented in those. At some point, I asked myself, ‘Do I want to die having experienced the world but not knowing
34 | ABA Publications | Africa TRAVEL | Sept 2021
