Travelling and touring different countries is very important and it goes way beyond seeing the places on your bucket list and taking beautiful pictures for the gram. It is also about experiencing completely different cultures, cuisines and landscapes, and the transformation and impact on your personality and the way you view the world and humanity.
Jessica Nabongo, a writer, entrepreneur, travel influencer, nomad and former UN employee has become the first documented black woman to visit all 195 countries in the world. Jessica, who is a Detroit native of Ugandan descent has been travelling since the age of 6, and had visited 8 countries by the age of 18. After leaving college she got a six-figure job at a pharmaceutical company and bought her own house in Detroit, but she quit the job, rented out her condo and hit the road. She proceeded to Japan to teach English, then went on to get a Master’s degree from London School of Economics, followed by a job at the United Nations that took her to Benin and Italy. That still wasn’t satisfying as she decided to step back from her full-time job as the founder of Jet Black, a boutique travel agency, and focus on her quest to travel the world.
To fund her travels, Jessica worked as a travel influencer, partnering with hotel and hospitality brands, some of whom offered free stays in exchange for social media posts. She also worked as a freelance writer, content creator for different brands and a United Nations consultant. Her travel agency and GoFundMe page with over 500 donations aided her travel expenses.
Explaining why her mission is so important to her, she told BBC, “I think representation is important. We see Instagram, the travel industry and we are just not seeing enough people who look like me travelling as extensively as I am. So I think it’s really important for me to be doing this for other people that look like me”. Her photo essay on her Instagram page has also helped influence her follower’s perspective about countries restricted by international news outlets which leads to low rates of tourists
The two-passport holder uses her trips to promote tourism in Africa, change the negative travel stereotype and advocate for causes like the harmful effects of plastic on planet earth. And to support the Black Travel Movement, she uses her Ugandan rather than her American passport when travelling.
Check out her brand, The Catch Me If You Can for her travel stories and experiences.
