African Economic Development Solutions (AEDS) of Minnesota Building Wealth within African Immigrant Communities | Micro-entrepreneurial Training, Financial Education, Loan Access, Small Business Consulting & Homeownership Education

Little Africa Fest 2018

Enjoy a day of FAMILY FUN at the 5th Annual Little Africa Fest of MN Saturday Aug 18 1pm-8pm Come experience DANCE, LIVE MUSIC, FOOD, GAMES, KIDS ACTIVITIES & MUCH MORE at this FREE & FAMILY FRIENDLY #LittleAfrica #LittleAfricaFest #LittleAfricaFest2018 #LittleAfricaArts #AfricansInMinnesota

Join the fun at #LittleAfricaFest2018 →

Little Africa tour showcases local artists and African owned businesses.

During the Little Africa tour attendees traveled along Snelling Avenue, where they visited African Plaza, Fasika Ethiopian Restaurant, Dahabshiil Mini Market, Addis Mini Market, Sabrina’s Café, Sunshine Beauty Salon, and Snelling Café. At each location, the group had an opportunity to meet with the business owners and learn the unique stories of the locations. The tour ended at Snelling Café with a pop-up art gallery featuring the works of artists of visual artists Geno Okok, Sara Endalew, and Binyam Raba, the documentary street photography of Netsanet Negussie, and the eccentric and bold handbags of fashion designer Ngeri Nnachi.

Opening up the Doors: Why Creating a Welcoming Little Africa Community Takes Time

On February 9th AEDS launched its first in a series of community workshops to implement a Facade Improvement project for small businesses within Little Africa. Organized by both AEDS and the Saint Paul Riverfront Corporation the project is funded in part by the Knight Green Line Challenge award and seeks to build community engagement while improving the exterior of Little Africa businesses. The second Facade Improvement workshop in this series will take place on April 5th 2016.

Learn more about the first workshop here →

African Women Entrepreneurs & Artist Networking Event

Little Africa celebrated International Women’s day by hosting the second event in our arts series. On March 8th Little Africa organized the African Women Entrepreneurs & Artist Networking event. The comprised of an array of guest speakers, a performance by Ifrah Mansour, storytelling circles, and a panel discussion featuring Little Africa Women artists and entrepreneurs.

AEDS Homeownership Workshops

AEDS has partnered with the Minnesota Home Ownership Center to provide home stretch workshops to prepare homebuyers to be successful homeowners. We offer homeownership workshops throughout the year. Our homeownership workshops are open to all homebuyers in Minnesota. Click here to register for upcoming homeownership workshops.

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#LittleAfrica Business Forum Fall 2018

Little Africa Business Forum Fall 2018

#LittleAfrica Business Forum Connects African Immigrant Businesses with Decision Makers to Have a Discussion & Dialogue. Representative Rena Moran & Senator Foung Hawj will be present to join the conversation. Event is FREE & OPEN TO EVERYONE!

More info can be found by calling (651) 646-9411 or visit www.aeds-mn.org #GrowLittleAfrica #LittleAfricaMinnesota #LittleAfricaSaintPaul #LittleAfricaMN #LittleAfricaStPaul

2018 Little Africa Fest of Minnesota – AfroContIgbo African Contemporary Dance Group performance highlights

This performance was made possible by BlueCross BlueShields of Minnesota. AfroContIgbo Dance Group members: Korma Aguh-Stuckmayer, Kia Johnson, Mary Ejiofor, Theodora Amuah, Wisna Perou, Chika Eke, Ugochi Aguh & Lindsey Mutegi.

Video produced by Infiniti Pictures Tajudin Ali

#GrowLittleAfricaMN #LittleAfricaFest2018 #LittleAfricaMinnesota #AfricansinMinnesota #LittleAfricaArts #LittleAfricaCreativePlacemaking #WestAfricaDance #AfricanDance