Ekaro… kaabo. In Yoruba, my language, these words mean “good morning” and “welcome”. They were the first words I ever published here, in April 2015, when this space was still a small blog written in French under the name African Amazone.
At the time I had been back in Africa since September 2009. I was a young “repat”, one of the many Africans who studied or worked abroad and then chose to come home, or to settle elsewhere on the continent. I wanted to share what that return really looked like: the advice nobody gave me, the small anecdotes, the mistakes, and the quiet victories.
Why I started writing
I wrote because too many of us return disconnected from the realities we are coming back to. We know our countries through holidays, family stories and the news. Living and working here is something else. I wanted to help people prepare, personally and professionally, and to show a side of the continent rarely told: our cultural identity, our history, our successes and our shared ambitions.
What has changed since 2015
Eleven years later, the conversation has moved. Returning is no longer only a diaspora story; it is an investment story, a talent story and, for many, a family decision. Remote work has made it possible to live in Cotonou and work with Paris, Lagos or Washington. Benin now offers a path to nationality for Afro-descendants. Mobile money, startups and regional trade have reshaped what “opportunity” means.
My own path has changed too. I went from repat blogger to telecoms project manager, digital-economy communicator, head of communication at the Port of Cotonou and, today, freelance senior consultant helping organisations enter and grow in West Africa.
What Notes from Africa is now
This space has become Notes from Africa. It is where I write about business in Africa (markets, partnerships, the operational realities behind opportunities) and life in Africa (travel, culture, encounters and lessons from everyday life). Some of the early articles are still here in French; the ones that still matter are being adapted and updated in English.
The ambition has not changed: to offer a perspective rooted in experience, not a romanticised Africa, and to help those who want to build something here do it with their eyes open.
So, once again: ekaro, kaabo. Let’s build together.
