Awa Djimare
United AmericAfrica Multiservice Corp
Awa Djimare, a refugee from Ivory Coast, came to the US in 1999 and was granted asylum in 2006. After working as a server at an African restaurant in Harlem to make ends meet, she earned a certificate from H&R block to work as a tax preparer.
Wanting to open a business of her own, in 2015 she enrolled in Accompany Capital’s IDA program for refugees. She successfully completed the program and qualified to receive the full match grant to invest in her first business, United AmericaAfrica, a multiservice company where clients could receive professional translation, income tax preparation, photocopying, and notary public services.
In March 2019, she opened a second business, Cortlandt Department Store, a mid-sized store in the Bronx that sells a wide range of products, including beauty supplies, household items, hardware supplies, and school supplies, and which has two full-time employees. The pandemic was a difficult time for her but with Accompany Capital’s help, she was able to qualify for relief funding and keep both businesses going and growing, as well as serving other immigrants from the Ivory Coast.
Accompany Capital continues to support Awa’s business’s growth, funding a 2023 office and equipment upgrade to the Courtlandt Department Store which has successfully absorbed the business operations and clientele of United AmericaAfrica.