A bookstore, a barbershop, a Senegalese restaurant and a shop selling African and Latin American products are helping bring a wider range of African culture to Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Behind the businesses are Denise Biong and Malick Jobe, two entrepreneurs who are creating spaces where people can discover African literature, food, hair care and everyday products without leaving the city.
Their ventures also highlight the longstanding connections between the Canary Islands and the African continent, something that can easily get overlooked in everyday life.
Mulema: A bookstore with a different story to tell
The first venture was Mulema, a bookstore that opened in 2022 next to the Mercado de Nuestra Señora de África.
Founded by Biong, the shop focuses on African narratives and the voices of writers whose work challenges the idea that Africa can be treated as one single culture or identity.
Its shelves feature authors including Safia El Aaddam and Sani Ladan, reflecting the variety of experiences and perspectives found across the continent.
Mulema also organises workshops and discussions around Black identity and diversity. The aim is to challenge stereotypes and broaden the conversation about African history, which is too often reduced to familiar stories of poverty and oppression.
Africa is a continent of many countries, languages, histories and cultures. Biong wants the bookstore to help people appreciate that diversity, one book at a time.
El Africano Salomn: Products you won’t find everywhere
Jobe, who arrived in the Canary Islands from Senegal in 2008 at the age of 16, has built several businesses of his own.
One is El Africano Salomn, a general store selling a range of African and Latin American products that are not always easy to find in local supermarkets.
For people who have moved to Tenerife from elsewhere, access to familiar ingredients and everyday goods can make a real difference. For curious shoppers, it also offers a chance to discover products they might not otherwise come across.
Style Homme: Hair care for everyone
Jobe also runs Style Homme, a barbershop specialising in Afro hair while welcoming customers with all hair types.
It provides a service that can be difficult to find in some parts of the island, particularly for people looking for someone with experience working with different hair textures.
It’s another example of how these businesses serve a practical need while making the city’s commercial life more diverse.
A taste of Senegal in Tenerife
The fourth venture is a Senegalese restaurant run by Jobe, with his wife, Fatou, preparing traditional dishes.
The restaurant brings a taste of Senegal to Santa Cruz, offering familiar food to the Senegalese community and introducing local customers to another part of West African cuisine.
Food has a way of connecting people, whether it’s a dish that reminds someone of home or something completely new to try.
More than just four businesses
Together, these ventures offer much more than books, haircuts, groceries and meals. They create places where different communities can find familiar parts of their culture while giving others the opportunity to learn something new.
Biong and Jobe’s work also serves as a reminder of the close geographical and historical links between the Canary Islands and Africa.
Their message is a straightforward one: no continent can be reduced to a single story, and the best way to understand its diversity is to listen to the people telling those stories themselves.