The Rise of Jakiya Brown Thiaw

On a typical day, you can find Jakiya Brown Thiaw hard at work at her desk in her beautiful apartment overlooking the ocean in Dakar.

She’ll probably be on a call with one of her clients, helping them plan out their next product launch and improve their marketing strategy. After breaking for a long lunch and a home-cooked meal, she might record a video of herself giving branding tips for those who follow her on her Instagram.

When her work is done for the day, she could head to the beach to enjoy dinner and drinks with her husband and friends as they watch the sunset over the sea.

Before moving to Senegal, Jakiya was living in New York City working as a lead marketing brand manager for some of the world's biggest beauty brands.

While working 9-9 for these companies, she gained invaluable experience and expertise in branding and marketing.

As successful as she was, there were still challenges and she craved more freedom.

Growing up as a young girl in North Carolina, it had been a dream of hers to live and work in New York City.

Now, something was calling her in another direction.

Leaving New York and the corporate lifestyle behind, she traveled the world and eventually moved to Senegal, where she started her location independent brand consulting business.

She now runs her own company, The Travelingfro Brands L.L.C., where she empowers individuals to start their own businesses and take their brands to the next level.

Her work is fueled by vision, impact, and legacy.

I admire Jakiya because her dedication to honoring both the generations that have come before her and the generations that will come after her has motivated her to create a legacy of inspiration and hope for others while building the life of her dreams.

Her story conveys the resilience and strength that she has gained from all that she has overcome.

She inspires and motivates her community to take leaps of faith in their lives, as she has done many times too. She encourages them to believe in themselves and their power to achieve their dreams. She challenges people to show up for themselves in a way that they may have been afraid to, or taught not to, before.

Jakiya’s drive is unstoppable because it is powered by the vision of her legacy and what she will be leaving behind.

For her, supporting her community is what it’s all about.

She explains:

“My goal is to help Black and Brown people, specifically Black women, create the businesses they want to create, make the impact they want to make, and get the income they deserve so we can close this wealth gap because our knowledge is exponential and we aren’t getting rewarded, let’s say, fairly for that. So really making sure that we’re gaining wealth and we have prosperity and peace.”

That’s the mission that keeps her going when things are tough.

The journey to where Jakiya is today has been full of challenges.

Challenges related to economics, socioeconomics, race, and women’s equal rights. Challenges of having to prove herself and work harder than others around her. Challenges of her identity as a Black woman growing up in the South.

She believes that these obstacles have made her who she is today.

She focuses on how to turn her setbacks into learning opportunities and takes solace in the strength of her ancestors. The ability of her ancestors to overcome so much reminds her that if they could overcome all that they did, then she is able to do anything.

For Jakiya, success is about using her skills and talents to empower people, especially women, in the Black community to go after their dreams and do things they were told they couldn’t.

Whether it’s quitting their job, starting a business, traveling the world, or visiting the continent for the first time, she’s here supporting Black women in achieving more for themselves.

Jakiya shares:

“I just hope that I can spread the message of self-love, self-respect, Black power, and the energy and spirit of reconnecting with the continent, giving people hope and showing them that my story is a testimony. I didn’t come from money. I didn’t have all of these connections. I came from a single-parent home. We didn’t have much money. My mom made it work. If I can do that, so can you. I hope that my work shows that and that my legacy tells that story.”

Her legacy is already one of empowerment and inspiration.

As she currently celebrates 5 years of starting her business, her work has impacted over 150 clients, more than 1000 customers that have purchased her digital products and programs, and 24,000+ people in her Instagram community.

Jakiya has had life-changing impacts on her community.

One of her clients, Tiffanie Davis, who is an American living in Paris and the Founder of Tiffanie Davis LLC, expresses that:

"When I first discovered Jakiya I was crazy excited about what she was doing to help build generational wealth within the black community. I could also completely relate to her story - years of hustling in corporate, working to make someone else’s dream a reality, constantly being overlooked in the workplace - this was NOT IT! She’s giving so many people, including myself, freedom & flexibility in their career by simply learning how to monetize their personal skillset."

Another client, Leah Barros, who is a Spiritual Advisor, Energy Healer, and the Founder of Soulful Alchemy, explains her experience working with Jakiya:

“Jakiya is like the cool auntie all the cousins want to hang out with! You know, the one that reprimands you with so much swag that your only response is “damn, she’s right, though.” Yeah, that’s Jakiya. She’s not here to let you half-step. She’ll challenge you, but she’s also going to make sure you’re fully supported. Her gifts for marketing and mapping out money makers inspired me to take my business to levels I never thought were possible. Her light shines bright, and I’m forever grateful that she has the courage to share her gifts with the world."

Using her talent, skills, and abilities, Jakiya has been able to forge a new path for herself, for others, and for generations to come.

Wanting to be remembered for giving it her all, for leaving this Earth giving 210%, she hopes that her tribe, community, family, and future kids and grandkids can pick up wherever she leaves off because she doesn’t believe there’s enough time in this life to do all the things that she wants to do.

Although, she still plans to try.

Jakiya’s legacy has been shaped by many who came before her and will continue to shape those who come after her.

In her words,

“My legacy tells the story of this little Black girl from North Carolina whose family has been in the South since the slave ships arrived. We fought for what we believed in and we stayed as a family unit. We practice our beliefs, and we stay true to who we are. You don’t have to compromise who you are to have an impact on the world. Being real, being myself, that is what I want people to say about me. That’s the legacy I want to have. And I just hope that that shows in the way I carry myself, in the way I speak, in the way I work, and in the urgency and ambition that I have to make sure that we all reach our fullest potential.”

Jakiya’s journey is far from over.

She is living on the continent, in Senegal, and continues to travel the world while impacting the lives of others.

Her story is a reminder that the strength of the ancestors remains within each person on their path. That their ancestors walk with them every step that they take, are here to guide the way, and will not lead them astray.

The legacy of Jakiya's ancestors is still being lived by her and her future generations.

Each day, she carries on that legacy while creating her own.

Even with all that she has been able to accomplish this far, the best has yet to come.