Our Small Business
in Massachusetts
When I came to the U.S, in 1986 I could not find any food from my home in Nigeria. And lo and behold, other people could not find it either!
So I started selling home-cooked plates of staple West African meals including Jollof Rice, Pounded Yam and Egusi, and small chops (also known as fried snacks).
Hello, my name is Sola Ajao and I’m the owner of Destiny African Market, a food business that creates accessibility to African products and goods that are truly hard to find anywhere else. For the past 20 years I’ve been a licensed food caterer and have served thousands of people through my catering company which is also now a grocery store!
About the Store
Destiny African Market is a dual African grocery store and African catering company based in Randolph, MA. We serve the immigrant and Afro-Caribbean community of South Shore, Massachusetts with authentic foods, including African snacks and goods from their homeland.
These foods include the juicy Pamplemousse drink from Cameroon, Frozen pap or custard from Nigeria, or Kenkey sourdough from Ghana. I’m excited about developing our own line of frozen African food so that Destiny can be in homes across the nation.
Community and Social Responsibility
Having access to nutritious food is a human right. That’s why every year we host a food giveaway to thousands of families as well as donate food to our local food bank. In 2021, we collaborated with Christ Apostolic Church Mount Joy and The People’s Academy to give away 2,310 boxes of fresh food to the Roxbury, Massachusetts community.
The pandemic took a major toll on small businesses. That’s why we dedicate 10% of our shelf space to supporting other local African businesses and help them market their products to our customers. African entrepreneurs such as All Things by AM, Ayaba U.S. and SAWA Trivia are on the shelves of Destiny for free.
Our Eco-Friendly Promise
We provide quality, fresh food ONLY! Our Farm-to-market model consists of us working with local butchers to source produce without pesticides, farm-grown, and. This way we can guarantee freshness and support our local food business community.
Our approach to being eco-friendly consists of creating our own line of food using reusable packaging and encouraging customers to bring their own reusable or biodegradable shopping bags to the store. We also offer these reusable bags at a fair price! We also work with our team quarterly on waste minimization and recycling improvements.