Also listed on this week’s ‘Africa’s Top 5’, we are featuring a savvy author by the name of Mafoya Dossoumon for today’s ’Questions & Africa’. This adept writer & communications professional composed the book “African Expectations”. The book offers tentative solutions to some of the most pressing issues of our times based on his worldview and life experiences. Having lived and worked professionally in several African countries, Mafoya offers a distinctly different perspective while challenging people to consider new paradigms. His passion is to encourage Africans to tell their own stories. Learn more about him below!
AFWNY.com: What is your writing style?
Mafoya: My writing style is honest. I write from the heart and I am not afraid to take a stand. My first book “African Expectations: Musings From Where I Stand” is a collection of essays about how political, economic, and socio-cultural issues retard Africa’s development and how the most important factor for this failure is the lack of good leadership. My proposed solutions are based on my worldview and experiences.
AFWNY.com: What have been your challenges as an author?
Mafoya: The main challenge has been attempting to accomplish much with limited resources. I self-published my first book because I wrote it as much for myself as I wrote it for an audience; I had neither the time nor the temperament to go the traditional publishing route. Nevertheless, I am satisfied with the outcome. It has been hard finding resources for the different stages of publishing and promoting the book. The self-publishing industry is a wilderness of sorts. Most self-published authors have small or nonexistent marketing budgets. They have to rely on themselves and other freely available resources for promotion. For African authors who tell stories that are different from what mainstream media tends to gravitate to, the challenge is amplified. Thankfully, organizations such as Africa Book Club and Adiree are filling the gap.
AFWNY.com: Where are you from? How has this influenced your writing?
Mafoya: I am from Benin, but, I lived in a few countries in West Africa. I also lived in France and the United States [where I currently reside]. Travel provides invaluable education. My writing is colored by travel experiences. West Africa as a whole has a greater impact on my writing than Benin. For example, many of the issues addressed in “African Expectations: Musings From Where I Stand” are informed by my cross border experiences in West Africa. I find that travel liberates the imagination.
Thank you Mafoya! We look forward to more of your work!
Adiree Company is a media, marketing, and marketplace group reaching multicultural consumers. Every month, readers turn to content by Adiree — for impactful conversation, our marketing and it’s marketplace to engage with meaningful products. Focusing on everything from culture, lifestyle to careers, Adiree Company leverages the power of diversity and heritage to engage and empower. Adiree Company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Lagos Nigeria.