Aimee Salmon
CEO, Positively Africana by Aimee: Age 35
Aimee Salmon’s entrepreneurial journey began 18 years ago as a student at Mount Holyoke College, when a professor assigned students to start a business.
But her vision for that enterprise — and her personal journey — started earlier than that, before she immigrated to the U.S. from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Her business, Positively Africana by Aimee, brings authentic handmade gifts and cultural items to market in her downtown Northampton store, as well as nationwide through an e-commerce platform. She also offers African dance fitness classes in person and online. In all of this, she creates economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs and artists in Africa, while 25% of her profits directly support women in the Congo — funds that help create sustainable income opportunities, strengthen local businesses, and preserve cultural traditions through women-led entrepreneurship.
“I grew up in the Congo, and I wanted to create something that was not just a job, but a legacy to my grandmother and the women I saw working every day in my hometown in the Congo,” Salmon explained. “I also realized a need for cultural representation, through everyday African stories. I wanted to bring my voice and my entrepreneurial passion to this platform to highlight those stories and bring them to life, building a community around fitness and retail and media and storytelling — they’re all interconnected.”
The 10 individuals who nominated Salmon for 40 Under Forty all wrote eloquently of the connections she is forging between cultures — which is also reflected in her board service with the International Language Institute (ILI).
“Aimee’s business is not just retail — it is bridge-building,” ILI Executive Director Caroline Gear wrote. “As someone who has watched her leadership up close, I can say that Aimee combines entrepreneurial drive with deep integrity. She builds partnerships thoughtfully, invests in community relationships, and leads with purpose. Her business success is inseparable from her commitment to cultural representation and economic empowerment.”
In fact, Salmon said, her success is gratifying precisely because of its worldwide impact.
“It’s a work of love. I do it from the heart because knowing that I’m helping someone every day feels good to my soul. When people are supporting us here in the United States, the people we work with in the Congo and other regions in Africa are growing as well. Just watching their growth, seeing their businesses thrive, gives me so much joy and fulfillment. The African impact is a big piece of what I’m trying to accomplish here.”
—Joseph Bednar
