BUILDING WHAT COMES NEXT
AJABU reshaping how African hospitality shows up in the global bar conversation
Colin Asare-Appiah with co-founder Mark Holmes celebrate at ABAJU the pan-African cocktail and spirits festival. To learn more go to www.abjaufestival.com
EDITOR’S NOTE - FROM LORI Z: No matter the city — Sardinia at dusk, Athens in late light, Paris just before the rain — I have always been drawn to the hum of gathering places. The quiet theater of a bar, the way culture reveals itself not in monuments, but in conversation. Hospitality, at its best, is never simply about what is served. It is about what is carried forward.
That is something Colin Assare-Appiah has understood throughout his career. As a senior executive at Bacardi and one of the most respected voices in the global bartending community, he has helped shape spaces where heritage, identity, and craft meet with intention. Now in its third year, his South African cocktail festival stands as a continuation of that work — culture sustained through community, ritual, and shared experience.
By Colin Asare-Appiah
If I were sending you a postcard from AJABU, it wouldn’t be a staged cocktail shot. It would be a moment at the end of service — sleeves rolled up, glasses clinking, bartenders laughing in that exhausted, satisfied way we all recognize.
That’s the magic.
But AJABU was never just about the magic.
For years, I travelled the world working behind bars, mentoring, teaching, collaborating. I’ve seen how global bar culture connects people across borders. It’s powerful. It’s generous. It creates careers.
But it’s also concentrated. The same cities. The same circuits. The same stages.
Meanwhile, Africa — a continent with some of the richest hospitality traditions anywhere — wasn’t centered in that global exchange.
Not because of a lack of talent.
Because of a lack of platform.
I kept thinking: why should access require departure? Why should legitimacy mean leaving home?
AJABU was my response.
Why AJABU Exists
Let me be clear — Africa isn’t catching up. It never was behind.
What was missing wasn’t creativity. It was infrastructure. Visibility. Consistent investment.
AJABU is about building that infrastructure — in real time.
It’s about bringing global leaders to the continent and creating genuine exchange. It’s about ensuring African bartenders aren’t just invited into conversations, but helping lead them. And it’s about creating systems — education, mentorship, recognition — that continue long after the last drink is poured.
The name AJABU loosely translates to “amazing.” But what feels amazing to me isn’t spectacle. It’s watching someone realise they don’t need permission to take up space.
That shift in mindset is powerful.
And it spreads quickly.
Why South Africa
South Africa gave us a practical starting point — strong bar culture, accessibility, creative energy. But AJABU has always been pan-African in spirit.
In just a few years, we’ve seen bartenders travel from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe and beyond — meeting peers they’d previously only known online. Those connections turn into collaborations. Those collaborations turn into opportunity.
That’s how ecosystems grow.
What Comes Next in Mixology
We’ve mastered technique. The industry is technically brilliant.
Now the evolution is about perspective.
Who benefits from the ingredients we celebrate?
Who tells the stories?
Who defines what excellence looks like?
African traditions have shaped global drinking culture in more ways than we often acknowledge. AJABU isn’t about correcting history with confrontation — it’s about expanding the present with confidence.
When you broaden the lens, the industry becomes stronger.
Beyond the Festival
Yes, AJABU is an event. But it’s also a pipeline.
Scholarships. Workshops. Partnerships. Real pathways — particularly for women and underrepresented groups — to build sustainable careers.
The aim isn’t inspiration for a weekend.
It’s momentum that lasts.
I’ve watched bartenders arrive unsure of their place and leave with a network, a plan, and a sense of ownership. That’s when you know something meaningful is happening.
The Energy
People often ask about the big names who attend. And yes, they’re there. But what matters most is how they show up.
At AJABU, everyone stands at the same bar.
That proximity changes things. It removes hierarchy. It encourages collaboration instead of comparison. It keeps the atmosphere open.
Hospitality, at its best, is generous.
That’s the culture we’re building.
The Long View
In ten years, I see AJABU active in multiple African countries. I see African hospitality awards judged through an African lens. I see African bartenders leading global pop-ups — not as guests, but as standard-setters.
Most importantly, I see a generation that won’t feel the need to leave home to be taken seriously.
We’re not trying to replace global bar culture.
We’re expanding it.
And we’re doing it with optimism.
Because the future of hospitality isn’t about who gets invited into the room.
It’s about who builds the room in the first place.
And if you care about where this industry is heading — #get involved bruv.