Latifa Seini did not set out to build just another online marketplace. She set out to build something that could have made a difference for her own business journey.
Born and raised in Ghana, Seini is the Founder and CEO of Lembrih Marketplace, a mission-driven e-commerce platform that aims to support Black and African vendors who may otherwise struggle to gain visibility on larger, mainstream platforms. Her journey into entrepreneurship is shaped by lived experience, resilience, and a deep commitment to ethical commerce.
Before launching Lembrih, Seini founded Flaunt Ankara, a small African print business that served hundreds of loyal customers. Like many independent creators, she encountered challenges on larger platforms such as Etsy and Amazon, where high fees and algorithm-driven discovery often hinder culturally rich brands. These struggles ultimately inspired her to create a platform built with vendors like herself in mind.
Today, Lembrih Marketplace aims to address some of these challenges. Vendors are offered 30 days commission-free, followed by a simple and transparent pricing structure of $10 per month plus a 10 percent commission, or a 15 percent commission with no subscription. This model is designed to help small-batch creators scale without undue pressure on their profit margins.
What sets Lembrih apart is its generosity-centered approach. For every purchase made on the platform, $1 is allocated to charitable causes, helping to create a cycle of commerce and community impact. The name “Lembrih,” meaning “black” in the Gonja language of Ghana, reflects the platform’s cultural roots and aspirations for a global impact.
Seini’s professional background extends beyond entrepreneurship. She works in IT training and enablement, where she leads leadership development initiatives and future-focused programs around AI. This experience influences the way Lembrih is being developed, with technology that scales while keeping people at the center.
The idea for Lembrih became even more pressing for Seini as she witnessed humanitarian crises across Africa, in regions like Sudan and the Congo. While personal donations were meaningful, she recognized that long-term impact could be created through helping African and Black vendors build sustainable businesses that could offer economic stability over time.
“I realized my greatest contribution wasn’t just giving money,” she explains. “It was helping people build businesses that could support themselves and their families in the long term.”
This insight became Lembrih’s guiding principle: empowering entrepreneurs while generating economic and social impact. For Seini, commerce is a tool for change. By supporting African and Black vendors, she hopes to contribute to the creation of sustainable income, the strengthening of communities, and the fostering of opportunities that could extend across generations.
Seini has also cultivated a strong online presence to amplify this mission. Through social media, she shares her journey and connects with like-minded business owners. Her content is authentic and community-oriented, fostering engagement and trust—reflecting the same values she has embedded in Lembrih.
Currently, Lembrih is in its Kickstarter pre-launch phase, encouraging support from conscious consumers, artisans, and those interested in ethical shopping to help bring the platform fully to life. Through this community-driven effort, Seini hopes to build a global marketplace rooted in culture, fairness, and shared abundance.
In a world where marketplaces often prioritize scale over sustainability, speed over culture, and profit over people, Lembrih represents something truly different: a human-centered approach to commerce that values community and connection. For Latifa Seini, it is a personal mission, a professional vision, and an invitation to those who believe business can and should serve a higher, more meaningful purpose.
Lembrih is not just a marketplace. It is a movement toward ethical commerce, where every vendor matters and every story deserves to be seen.
