Refugee-Owned Business Spotlight: Rosie’s African Braiding
Toledo Americorps VISTA member, Courtney, had the opportunity to visit a new refugee-owned business in Northwest Ohio. Here is her experience:
Kabuna, a former refugee from DRC, owns Rosie’s African Braiding in Toledo, OH
Walking into Kabunda Bukasa’s new business, Rosie’s African Braiding, the first thing you notice are the doors. They are vibrant and full of color with pictures of Black clients proudly displaying different types of braids.
Kabunda gestured me over to the sofa when I walked in, and one of her daughters helped translate our conversation. Kabunda told me she arrived as a refugee to the U.S. three years ago, and she just opened Rosie’s African Braiding last month, in July 2021.
“It’s a talent she’s been doing since Africa.”
The braids this shop offers are unique. Kabunda learned the business aspect of hair salons from previous jobs, but this family offers authentic African braids, which can be hard to find in Toledo, Ohio.
Owning her time was a deciding factor for Kabunda when she thought about starting her own business. She wasn’t a fan of working for somebody else, “because I’m a single mother with children,” Kabunda told me. Owning her own business gives her flexibility and allows her to spend more time with her children in a way she couldn’t if she was working for someone else.
Braiding hair is also, simply, Kabunda’s talent. “It’s a talent she’s been doing since Africa. This was the only thing she could fall back on,” her daughter said. Her mother was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Talent didn’t help the mother and daughter through everything, though. When I asked them what the hardest part about starting the hair business was, both barely looked at each other before Kabunda’s daughter laughed a bit. The answer was unanimous: money.
“Everything is just coming out of pocket,” her daughter said, going on to say it was difficult to get money for the shop. Kabunda told me she didn’t have any employees just yet – it was just her and her daughter working.
She explained how it is difficult for refugees to find quality work, saying how “you either have to have your own business or have a low-paying job. This was the only thing she could do to provide the bread for home.”
Kabunda, a refugee from Congo, is now able to sit in a business of her own and talk to me about her experiences in an interview. Rosie’s African Braiding is named after her youngest daughter, and some of her children are studying at the University of Toledo. Kabunda’s daughter, who helped during this interview, is currently serving in the Army.
I asked Kabunda if she had any advice for incoming refugees, particularly for those who want to start their own businesses, and she said, “They must not be afraid to take risks.” Her daughter added, “It’s going to work out if they just put their mind to it.” At US Together, we see first-hand everyday the resiliency and talent refugees bring to the United States.
We wish Kabunda and her family the best of luck with her new business.
The business address is 1825 Eastgate Road, Toledo 43614.