Here at Asali, we believe in beauty + functionality. We know our customers have things to do and lives to live. You just want to feel beautifully Afrocentric while doing it.
That's why we're committed to sourcing and creating authentic African imported fabrics, jewelry, and fans that cater to your lifestyle. Asali is a visual representation of the Diaspora’s creative versatility.
Uniquely Beautiful. Easy to wear. Crafted with Passion.
Let the patterns do the work.
Asali is a Black Women OwnedCompany.
Our Founder and CEO, Erica Harris
Erica has always been curious about business. At the early age of nine, she had a business selling candy and multi-colored lanyard strings in school. Over the years, Erica sold goods to supplement her allowance and eventually led to taking classes and participating in programs that would sharpen her innate business acumen. In high school, Erica attended the Riordan Scholars Program on Saturdays at UCLA Anderson School of Business. The program was geared towards enriching students in financial literacy, corporate structure, and investing.
While at the University of California, Davis, Erica founded and managed the Financial Management Program. This series of workshops taught college students studying various majors financial literacy. She recruited and vetted university staff and local business owners to lecture and share their real world experience. The program grew from five students the first year to room capacity of over 100 students in its fourth year. In her senior year, she participated in the Sacramento Entrepreneurship Academy (SEA)--learning the mechanics of business and entrepreneurship--where her group’s business plan and pitch won the Best Viable Business award.
After college, Erica dove deeper into business methodologies and strategies by networking with women’s forums, attending seminars, and taking classes at local colleges. She also participated in a variety of programs such as the Entrepreneurship Program at Pasadena Community College, the Los Angeles Entrepreneur Leadership Academy at the Los Angeles Community College, and the Los Angeles Urban Rebound Accelerator hosted by Count Me in for Women’s Economic Independence.
Erica’s wealth of knowledge and training led to her first business venture. In 2010, Erica founded Happy Baby Vending (HBV). HBV was a company dedicated to selling organic & all-natural diapers, snacks, and merchandise for children 0 – 5 through vending machines. The machines were located in malls and a children’s museum.
To generate additional investment funding and as a marketing strategy, Erica pitched Happy Baby Vending at several business competitions. HBV won Best Pitch for 2-5 Year Businesses from the National Urban League, was a finalist in the Yoshiyama Young Entrepreneur Program sponsored by the Hitachi Foundation, and won 2nd Place in the UC Davis Big Bang Business Competition.
Because of her experience, knowledge, and business acumen, Erica was invited by the Obama Administration to participate in The White House Urban Economic Forum in 2012, and the South-by-South Lawn event at the White House in 2016.
In July 2020, Erica established her holdings company that houses Asali. For eight months, Erica used her past experiences as well as her knowledge as a business coach to develop a company that ties the Continent of Africa to the Diaspora through ecommerce. Asali was launched in March 2021 to sell Diaspora imported and American manufactured products online. The signature products are masks, easy to wear headwraps, fabric fans, and jewelry. The business was inspired by her trips to Kenya, Morocco, and Ghana.
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