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As we celebrate Black History Month, we’re proud to highlight the stories of Black entrepreneurs who are shaping and strengthening our community. Please welcome Christine Kayenga and Charlotte Wesi, co-owners of Marché Afro-Rama (1025 Notre-Dame Street in Embrun), who bring with them rich cultural roots, strong family values, and a shared commitment to Embrun.
Christine Kayenga is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo and has been living in Embrun for nearly five years. She is a proud mother of four children, ranging in age from 10 to 21.
Charlotte Wesi moved to Embrun from Montreal about four years ago and is originally from Cameroon. She also has a family of four children, including her eldest daughter, who is adopted and now in her early twenties, as well as three younger children between the ages of 8 and 13.
Together, Christine and Charlotte’s stories reflect the diversity, resilience, and cultural richness celebrated during Black History Month. We invite you to read their interview and learn more about their journeys, their families, and the passion behind their new business, which is contributing to both the local economy and the strong sense of community that makes Embrun such a special place to live.
| What brought you to choose the Township of Russell? |
| Christine: Personally, what drew me to the Township of Russell was its strong sense of community, and also because it’s a peaceful place that’s great for raising children—especially when I first arrived, my kids were still young.
My daughter often tells me, “Ah, when we walk on the street, they know where you come from, they know your parents, they know you.” And I tell her, “But that’s a good thing; this is how we should live, in a place where everyone knows each other.” Charlotte: Just like Christine said, Embrun is a very welcoming community. It has a strong sense of community and it’s also very family oriented. When you have little kids, you don’t always want to constantly watch over them while they’re playing. Here in Embrun, you don’t really have that concern. The kids can go out, they play with their neighbours, so it’s very family friendly. Coming from Africa, we have a strong sense of community, and here we have that same feeling. It feels like a continuity for us. There is that strong sense of community, which is great, and I want my children to grow up in that type of community. |
| Did you have any connection to the area before moving here? |
| Christine: My brother-in-law lives here in Embrun. He told me, “Come see where we live first.” So when I arrived, I immediately liked the area. I thought to myself: this is a good place to raise children, to do business, and, most importantly, for the community, as we just mentioned.
I am Congolese, and Charlotte is Cameroonian. She is my sister at heart. We share the same values, and that’s how we came together. Charlotte: Actually, my family and I came to Embrun by chance, really. We wanted to move from Quebec to Ottawa, so we were looking at houses in Stittsville. There was an open house in Embrun, and we were invited to attend. Once we got here, I was hooked. There was no turning back. I didn’t have any prior connection, but when I got here, I felt that sense of belonging, and that’s how we stayed. |
| How would you describe the welcome you received in Embrun? |
| Christine: When I arrived in Embrun, the welcome was very warm. We were warmly received by the community, the neighbors, and also by the children’s school. We were really encouraged to stay, being told that it was a very good place. And we ourselves saw that it was true.
Charlotte: The welcome we had when we got here was warm. It was encouraging and supportive. Just to show you how supportive the neighborhood is, when we moved in, one of our neighbours came over to let us know that if we ever had a problem with the swimming pool, he could come and help us. You don’t really see that a lot when you live in bigger towns, right? To me, that was really encouraging. And then, being here as an entrepreneur, the welcome has been good as well. People come in, they give you little pieces of advice here and there, they support you, and they are really lovely. They are genuinely happy that we have this African store here. It’s kind of the first of its kind around here. We do feel that support, even as entrepreneurs starting out here in Embrun. |
| How did the business get started? |
| Christine: We started this business, I would say, a little like a game. We just started like that. We kept saying to ourselves that we were traveling very far to buy the foods we love—finding the vegetables we wanted, the oils we use for our hair, and so on. It meant we had to cover very long distances.
Then one day, Charlotte and I had this idea: why not start something, even in our garage? Let’s do it. At first, we started with a small garden during the summer, and we asked ourselves: couldn’t we sell our products? Since we were traveling such long distances to get what we loved, we thought that the African community probably had the same needs as we did. And that’s how the idea was born. Charlotte: Just like Christine said, Afro-Rama started from what was really an inconvenient situation for us. It was inconvenient, especially when you’re in the middle of cooking and you realize you’re missing something, and you can’t just go get it. Like she said, we do a lot of gardening during the summer, and we bring seeds from back home. We grow some of the vegetables in our backyard, and we thought maybe we could sell them, maybe we could make a business out of it. We first thought about doing it from a small garage, but that didn’t really work out. Then this opportunity presented itself. There was a man who had started a business here before and we came to help him. But then he decided to sell the business to us. We thought it was a good opportunity at the perfect time Knowing that Embrun is growing, that there is more diversity and more Black people moving here from different cultural backgrounds, they will obviously face the same issue of traveling to get the products they want. So why don’t we start this and see how we can help each other? And that’s how Marché Afro-Rama came about. |
| What kind of products do you offer? |
| Charlotte: We serve the community with a variety of authentic African products, including frozen vegetables such as ndolé, pondu, and other traditional frozen foods like bobolo and attiéké. Our store also offers African spices and seasonings, including crayfish and Cameroon pepper, soup seeds such as egusi, staple foods like garri and different types of fufu, including pounded yam.
In addition to food items, we carry African beauty and hair care products such as authentic shea butter, as well as a selection of African attire and cultural wear. Our aim is to provide quality products while celebrating African culture and supporting community diversity. |
| What sets you apart from the competition? |
| Christine: Marché Afro-Rama is very personal for us. As sisters from Cameroon and Congo, we carefully select products that reflect our cultures and traditions.
Although we specialize in African products, our store is a space open to everyone. We proudly welcome people of all cultures and backgrounds. At the moment, we don’t really have any competition, but we remain very humble. We welcome everyone, we love everyone. We offer a lot of love and respect to our customers. Charlotte: What makes Marché Afro Rama different from other businesses is that it is very personal to Christine and me. It reflects our cultures and our traditions, and we take our time to bring authentic food to our customers. Although it is based on African products, we welcome people from every culture. As we mentioned before, Embrun is becoming very diverse, so we are ready to serve everybody from different cultural backgrounds. We are welcoming, and we are one of the very first African stores to exist in this area. We would love for our customers to come see us and also to share our culture with us. |
| What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs? |
| Christine: It would be to turn challenges into opportunities. To be patient and believe in their vision. Building a business takes time, but consistency and community support make all the difference.
Charlotte: The only thing I would like to add, in addition to being consistent and persistent in your vision, is not letting fear hold you back, especially the fear of the unknown. Sometimes we are not very certain what the outcome is going to be, so we hold back. But sometimes you need to plunge into your vision and hope for the best. |
Christine and Charlotte are deeply grateful for the support they have received since opening and welcome you to visit Marché Afro-Rama at 1025 Notre-Dame Street in Embrun.