Photograph by Chris Von Holle
Gabi Odebode had finished a master’s degree in biology and started a job as a clinical researcher in a hospital when she realized the work didn’t give her the same level of satisfaction she found in a kitchen sharing her culture and her food. Born in Ghana, Odebode immigrated to Maryland at the age of 9 and grew up with her sights on a career in medicine.
While running a catering company in grad school, her calling to become a chef spoke louder and louder until she founded Afromeals in 2019. Now she has a line of seasoning blends, catering services, and popular cooking classes, operating out of Findlay Kitchen in Over-the-Rhine.
“I’m actually giving a part of me to people,” she says. “I’m teaching people about my culture, and they love it. They want to be part of it, and most importantly they respect it and honor it.”
Starting a business can be difficult as an immigrant, often not knowing the right people or how to find necessary resources. She encourages budding entrepreneurs to come out of their shells and meet people, visit places, attend events, and connect with local chambers of commerce. “I’ll tell them to not be ashamed of their accent or of not being clear,” says Odebode. “Try their best and do not worry about making mistakes. If they keep trying, they will get the help they need.”
Immigrant and refugee businesses are vital to the regional economy, says Bryan Wright, executive director of Cincinnati Compass, a collaborative project of the Cincinnati Regional Chamber, the City of Cincinnati, and other community partners. Focused on improving the economic and social well-being of immigrants and refugees living throughout Greater Cincinnati, Compass connects entrepreneurs with resources to help with skills like marketing and website development and pathways to access capital, grants, and legal support.
“One in five of all new businesses were founded by immigrants nationally [in 2023], and immigrants are more likely than U.S.-born citizens to become entrepreneurs,” Wright says. While 48 percent of immigrants come to the region with a bachelor’s degree or higher, they’re often underemployed and yet still contribute $610 million in state and local taxes and have $4.9 billion in spending power.
Recent actions by the federal government, including arrests and detentions by U.S. Immigration and ICE agents, and rule changes like the recent ban on noncitizens applying for small business loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, have had chilling effects on immigrant businesses and communities, Wright says. “But the community has shown up in big ways. Kind of like activism through consumerism. We have partners stepping up, too. There are still positives out there.”
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