E31: Building Community Through Female Entrepreneurship: The Ujamaa Collective Story
What makes Tia Baker with Ujamaa Collective a good neighbor?
Innovative Community Engagement Thrives with Female Entrepreneurs in Pittsburgh
The Ujamaa Collective stands as a powerful example of how women entrepreneurs can thrive through intentional community building and cooperative business practices. Founded approximately 15-16 years ago, this organization brings together Africana women who are artists, artisans, business owners, and service providers to collectively strengthen their entrepreneurial ventures while creating meaningful relationships with one another.
At the heart of the Ujamaa Collective is their boutique, which serves as both a marketplace and a physical manifestation of their core values: creativity, wellness, fair trade, community, and meaningful work. The boutique showcases a diverse array of products created by their members, ranging from handcrafted body care products and home goods to artistic works from poets and visual artists. This physical space provides not only a retail outlet but also embodies the spirit of cooperation and mutual support that defines the organization.
Tia Baker, who joined Ujamaa Collective about 15 years ago when it was just starting, shares a deeply personal connection to the organization. Initially introduced to the collective by her mother (a founding member), Tia attended an opening event during a particularly challenging period in her life. What she discovered there was transformative—a warm, welcoming community that uplifted her spirit precisely when she needed it most. This chance encounter led to an opportunity to become the boutique manager, a position that would become a pivotal part of her journey with the collective.
What makes Ujamaa Collective particularly innovative is their approach to marketing and community engagement. While they utilize traditional marketing channels like social media and their website, they've developed what they call "cooperative marketing"—a strategy that leverages their collective strength. During membership meetings, which function as working sessions, members simultaneously conduct live marketing across their social media platforms, amplifying their reach exponentially. They maintain cohesive messaging through shared schedules and scripts, ensuring that individual efforts contribute to their collective success.
The Ujamaa Collective primarily targets Africana women, but their customer base has expanded organically to include people of diverse backgrounds from around the world. This global reach speaks to both the quality of their offerings and the universal appeal of their mission. By creating a space centered on uplifting Black women entrepreneurs while welcoming all, they've developed a business model that balances cultural specificity with broad accessibility.
In exciting news for the organization, Ujamaa Collective is currently in transition, with a soft opening at their new temporary location at 2512 Wiley Avenue scheduled for August 2nd. Simultaneously, they're conducting a capital campaign to secure funding for a permanent home, representing the next phase of growth for this community-centered enterprise. This evolution demonstrates the sustainability of their cooperative model and their ongoing commitment to creating economic opportunities for Africana women entrepreneurs.
To learn more about Ujamaa Collective go to:
Ujamaa Collective
(412) 853 7217
