How Bolaji Akintola Built Divine African Market Into a Lifeline for Newcomers

What began as a neighbourhood grocery store in Fredericton has become a place of belonging, dignity, and cultural continuity for Canada’s growing African diaspora.

When Bolaji Akintola opened Divine African Market in Fredericton, New Brunswick, the goal was practical: make African food staples accessible in a city where newcomers often struggled to find the ingredients that felt like home. What emerged instead was something deeper—a community anchor built on empathy, service, and quiet leadership.

Founded in 2018, Divine African Market is a specialised African grocery store serving both the African diaspora and a wider Canadian audience curious about the continent’s rich culinary traditions. From yams and cassava flour to plantain fufu, palm oil, traditional spices, snacks, frozen foods, and beauty products, the store carries ingredients that are difficult to find elsewhere in Atlantic Canada.

But Akintola’s vision extended well beyond retail.

A Store Built on Welcome

For many immigrants, arrival in a new country is marked by uncertainty—new systems, unfamiliar foods, and financial pressure. Akintola understood this intimately. In the early years of the business, she personally supported newly arrived immigrants by giving them free bags of rice—an essential staple—no questions asked.

It was a small gesture with outsized meaning. In those moments, Divine African Market became more than a shop; it became a signal that someone saw them, understood them, and cared.

That spirit continues to shape how the business operates. Customers often describe the store’s atmosphere as warm and reassuring, with staff who don’t just sell products but explain how to cook with them, share recipes, and help people reconnect with their food heritage.

Preserving Culture, One Ingredient at a Time

Food is memory, identity, and continuity—especially in diaspora communities. Divine African Market plays a critical role in preserving that connection. By sourcing authentic African groceries and maintaining cultural integrity in its product range, the store allows families to pass traditions down through meals, even thousands of kilometres from home.

At the same time, Akintola has positioned the store as a bridge between cultures. Non-African customers regularly visit to explore new flavours, experiment with African recipes, and learn directly from the people behind the products. In a city like Fredericton, that cultural exchange matters.

Recognition Rooted in Impact

Akintola’s leadership has not gone unnoticed. In 2024, she received the Canadian Choice Award, was named among the Top 100 Women to Watch, and earned a Fredericton Chamber of Commerce Business Award nomination—recognition that reflects not just business resilience, but community trust.

Operating with a small team, Divine African Market has grown steadily while staying grounded in its original purpose: accessibility, affordability, and respect for the people it serves.

Leadership Without Loudness

Bolaji Akintola represents a form of women-led entrepreneurship that is often overlooked—quietly effective, deeply human, and community-first. Her work shows that impact doesn’t always come from scale or spectacle. Sometimes, it comes from opening the doors every morning, stocking the right foods, and offering help when it’s needed most.

In doing so, she has built more than a grocery store. She has built a place where newcomers feel less alone—and where culture is not diluted, but honoured.

Company Name: Divine African Market

Industry: Retail Grocery · African Foods

Headquarters: Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

Website: www.divineafricanmarket.com

LinkedIn Profile URL:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/divine-african-market/