Entrepreneurial profile : Cherae Robinson, founder of Tastemakers Africa
A Nigerian-American entrepreneur, she is the founder and CEO of “Tastemakers Africa,” a travel platform focused on culture and community in Africa.
Of Nigerian origin, it is only in 2010 that Cherae Robinson set foot on the African continent and has since become addicted to it. Entrepreneur, storyteller, community builder as her LinkedIn profile indicates, she is described as a “strong woman who does not back down from anything”.
Exploring and setting up Tastemakers Africa, an experiential travel agency that is changing the way people think about travel in Africa!
The inspiration behind Tastemakers Africa came to Cheraé Robinson during her travels in Africa. “I was working in development for an international NGO, which often took me to Africa. I would post on Facebook that I was going to Zimbabwe or Sierra Leone, and people would tell me to be careful. But when I got to these places and shared photos, everyone was so interested.
I met local influencers and tastemakers who invited me to experience their cities through their craft. I started sharing this on social media, and when I did, people wanted to travel with me. So I created a group called Afripolitans and took 80 people to West Africa with me on a charter plane. The goal was to help share what the continent is really like, and I started to see this opportunity to talk about Africa in a different way. It started as a hobby, but I soon realized there was a market for this type of travel,” she says in an interview.
While Cherae’s many trips to Africa inspired her, the concept of Tastemakers Africa became a reality on a 2014 trip called “December in Ghana,” and it was by promoting the trip on her Facebook page that she sold 10 spots in a week.
“We launched the website shortly thereafter, in November. We saw an opportunity to change the often negative narrative about Africa and highlight the creative and unique aspects of life that are happening on the continent,” she says.
Community according to Cheraé Robinson
As far as this community is concerned, it is what makes Tastemakers Africa so unique. Cherae bridges the gap between people wanting to visit Africa and those in Africa wanting to show visitors what their entire country has to offer.
With a sleek, photo-forward website and app, as well as a team that covers Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and the United States, Tastemakers Africa curates local experiences in cities across the continent. These experiences are geared towards travelers who want to go beyond traditional stereotypes of Africa and locals who want to discover what their own country has to offer.
Danielle N.
