We had the good fortune of connecting with Ashley N. Company and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashley N., can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Over a decade ago, I found myself disgruntled with my experience as a Black woman in Corporate America. On the verge of burnout and complete exhaustion, I quit my job and went off to find what liberation and peace looked like for me. I found it through travel and exploration primarily in Black cities and countries around the world. Knowing it was too good to keep to myself, I then made it my life’s work to help others experience true freedom for themselves, without even having to leave their jobs, through curated transformational experiences across Africa. To date, I’ve traveled to over half the countries in the world, becoming a travel expert, speaker, author, and liberator for my people. It’s been quite a ride!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Jelani Travel has a unique focus on radical self-care through travel to Africa and other destinations rich in the African diaspora. We offer intentional vacations that are curated for the culture, for the joy, and for the love of Black people to return home feeling rejuvenated and ready to face the work ahead. It’s a big task to facilitate transformational experiences and create unforgettable memories but it is an honor to do every day. We make Africa travel easy, so that all you have to do is book your trip, connect, and have a great time. Our most unique service is our Black Corporate Wellness retreat in Ghana and South Africa that caters to undervalued Black professionals, exhausted and burnt out from microaggressions and racism. We help them go from feeling powerless to powered by our celebrated history and collective blackness enabling them to lead authentically in work and in life.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If you don’t already know about the African spots in Atlanta, after going on one of our trips and tasting the delicious cuisines from the Motherland, you will be sure to want to keep the dining experiences going. Check out FAD African Fine Dining Nigerian Restaurant for some West African flavor and I also love Imperial Fez Mediterranean Restaurant & Lounge with Moroccan food.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Jelani Travel would not be as successful as it is today without the unwavering support of my mom who is also my business partner. She is a real one!

Website: GoJelaniTravel.com

Instagram: @ashleyncompany_

Image Credits
Jelani Travel

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