Congratulations to This Year’s Bootstrap Entrepreneur Awardee
Congratulations to This Year's Bootstrap Entrepreneur Awardee
Three years ago, we created the Bootstrap Entrepreneur Award, given in conjunction with New York City’s Immigrant Heritage Week, to honor a business owner who used a microloan to expand and strengthen a small business enterprise.
This year, BCNA is pleased to honor Sonnie Selma, owner of SS African Foods, with this important award.
SS African Foods, which she first started in 1992, is a family owned and operated 
wholesale business selling imported African specialty foods. BCNA awarded her a first microloan in 2006, and since then she has skillfully grown her business with the help of additional loan capital from BCNA. In fact, she has successfully paid off seven loans from BCNA and, because her sales have increased year after year, was just approved for her eighth loan.
It’s her reputation for excellent customer service that’s the key to her success, says Ms. Selma, who was born in Liberia and now lives on Staten Island. She has built up a steady base of customers from all over the United States including Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island.
When she first started the business, she had to travel to Africa to purchase all her products in person but over the years she’s built such a good relationship with suppliers that they now ship directly to her, streamlining her operations and costs. Her highest grossing item is African palm oil, and other popular products include frozen specialty fishes and cassava leaves.