Who We Are
Afripride Women Co-op is a federally registered multistakeholder cooperative formally incorporated on March 21, 2024. Our membership is made up of Black women of African descent from around the world who now call Canada home. We started this cooperative because we recognized that Afro-Canadian women especially new immigrants often face significant barriers to achieving financial stability. Many lack access to credit or sufficient personal resources to invest in essential goods or launch income-generating ventures. Limited or non-existent credit history further restricts their ability to secure funds, while gaps in financial literacy make it difficult to navigate available financial systems and opportunities.
In response, Afripride Women Co-op was created to empower Afro-Canadian women through culturally rooted financial systems that strengthen communities and generate lasting economic impact. Our core solution is the facilitation of Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs), a trusted, community-based approach that helps women build financial resilience.
Our Vision
We envision a future in which Afro-Canadian women-led cooperatives serve as pillars of financial resilience, community strength, and economic justice, contributing meaningfully to the prosperity of their families and communities.
Our Mission
Our mission is to promote the socio-economic self-empowerment of Afro-Canadian women — an equity-deserving group — by fostering cooperative leadership, financial education, collective investment opportunities, and peer support, grounded in respect, inclusion, and shared prosperity.
Our Values
- Integrity - We act with honesty, transparency, and ethical responsibility in all our decisions and financial dealings. Trust is the foundation that binds Afripride women together and sustains our collective success.
- Equity - We are committed to fair access to opportunities, resources, and decision-making for all members. Equity ensures that every woman’s contribution is valued and her voice respected.
- Accountability - Each member and leader takes responsibility for their actions, commitments, and stewardship of cooperative resources. We hold ourselves answerable to one another to protect the cooperative’s mission and shared assets.
- Collaboration - We believe our greatest strength lies in working together across skills, experiences, and perspectives. Collaboration enables us to build sustainable investments that no one could achieve alone.
- Reciprocity - We give and receive with intention, recognizing that mutual support strengthens the entire cooperative. Success is shared, and progress is measured by how we uplift one another.
- Fairness - We uphold just and consistent processes in governance, investment decisions, and benefit distribution. Fairness ensures trust, harmony, and long-term stability within the cooperative.
- Innovation - We embrace creative and forward-thinking approaches to economic empowerment and investment. Innovation allows Afripride to adapt, grow, and create lasting value for current and future generations.
- Sisterhood - We are united by solidarity, respect, and a shared commitment to one another’s growth. Sisterhood is the heart of Afripride, fostering belonging, resilience, and collective prosperity.
Our Journey
Afripride was born from a shared awakening. Many of us first came together as women in a nonprofit welfare group that practiced Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) for years. While significant amounts of money circulated among members over the years, we realized that, as a collective, we had little to show for it. Each woman completed her savings cycle, yet it was difficult to trace how those funds translated into lasting growth or tangible assets. It felt like harvesting fruits without ever saving seeds for the next season.
This realization sparked a shift in mindset. We needed to plant seeds while still enjoying the fruits. In late 2023, ten committed women formed a committee to design structures that would allow us to intentionally invest the funds generated through our cycles. Through research and partnerships with like-minded organizations, we explored established models and ultimately chose a multi-stakeholder cooperative.
In 2024, we made a bold collective decision to purchase property. That same year, we raised over $200,000, which was used as a down payment on a property in Calgary, Alberta. In 2025, Afripride reached a major milestone when we took possession of a newly built duplex—leveraging ROSCAs to transform informal saving into a lasting, generational asset.
This is the beginning of Afripride women turning unity into wealth and vision into legacy.
Our Team
Ruth serves as President of Afripride Women Co-op and is an accomplished food science professional with a strong entrepreneurial leadership background. In addition to her professional role, she actively manages multiple personal business ventures. She brings extensive expertise in quality assurance, regulatory compliance, and strategic leadership across both corporate and entrepreneurial environments. Her background includes navigating complex food industry networks, leading cross-functional teams, driving continuous improvement initiatives, and supporting operational excellence in highly regulated settings. Through her leadership at AWC, she leverages this combined experience to provide strategic governance, advance women’s economic empowerment, strengthen cooperative development and leadership, and promote sustainable community impact.
Grace serves as the Vice President of the AWC, where she plays a key role in shaping the cooperative’s strategic direction. She collaborates closely with stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of initiatives. Currently, she’s leading a project aimed at empowering and educating Afro-Canadians on their financial capabilities. Grace is a senior executive with extensive experience in the education, standardization and aviation sectors. Her expertise spans Quality, Safety, Compliance, and Risk Management. She’s currently working with the World's largest online retailer and multinational technology company. Beyond her professional life, Grace is a consultant, trainer, operation systems lead auditor, a wife, and mother.
Bella serves as the Director for Public Relations and Marketing, supporting efforts to share the organization’s story, strengthen community connections, and build meaningful relationships with partners and stakeholders. She is a community-centered nonprofit leader and evaluation consultant with more than 15 years of experience working alongside organizations that serve Black, Indigenous, and other marginalized communities.
Professionally, Bella works as an independent evaluation consultant, supporting nonprofits to better understand their impact, learn from their programs, and strengthen accountability to their stakeholders. With a background in Statistics and Computer Science, Bella believes that data is a powerful tool for storytelling, advocacy, and community empowerment.
Phyllis serves as the Director for Corporate Governance where she provides strategic oversight to ensure strong governance, accountability, and regulatory compliance. Her role focuses on developing and maintaining governance frameworks, policies, and board practices that support ethical decision-making, risk management, and long-term sustainability in close collaboration with the Board of Directors. She is also a project management professional with experience in business strategy and development, and a food industry entrepreneur and founder of a Kenyan cuisine business, bringing a practical, execution-driven perspective that strengthens organizational strategy, financial stewardship, and mission=aligned growth across cooperative governance, enterprise development and community-cantered economic empowerment initiatives locally and internationally.
Damaris serves as the Director for Finance and the Chair of the Finance Committee; she provides high-level financial leadership while strengthening governance and accountability. With experience in strategic financial management across Kenya and Canada, Damaris is a champion for inclusive leadership, mentorship, and women’s empowerment.
Damaris is dedicated to driving sound decision-making that advances financial inclusion and community empowerment. By balancing fiscal oversight with a passion for social impact, she ensures the cooperative’s long-term sustainability and creates pathways for marginalized groups to thrive. Her dual-market expertise and commitment to equity make her a vital force in fostering resilient, inclusive economic growth.
Ruth serves as Director for Membership and Recruitment. In this capacity, she manages prospective inquiries and oversees member databases while ensuring strict compliance with Canadian cooperative regulations and standing requirements.
Beyond her governance role, Ruth is a distinguished Registered Clinical Counsellor in British Columbia. Her clinical practice focuses on family dynamics, relationship health, and trauma processing. By combining administrative precision with a deep understanding of human connection, Ruth plays a pivotal role in fostering a compliant, engaged, and supportive community. Her dual expertise ensures the cooperative remains both operationally sound and person-centered.
Alice is a social worker with a strong background in Human Resources and Administration, currently working in the mental health and addictions sector. She brings a multidisciplinary perspective to her work, integrating clinical insight with organizational and administrative expertise. Her work focuses on empowering Afro-Canadian youth and women, as well as supporting vulnerable individuals as they work toward stability, resilience, and meaningful reconnection with their communities. Alice is deeply committed to advocacy for women and youth and approaches her practice with empathy, cultural responsiveness, and practical experience.
As a director, Alice is dedicated to fostering inclusive and supportive environments that promote dignity, opportunity, and well-being, enabling individuals and communities to thrive.
Cathy Warega serves as Board Secretary, supporting effective board operations, accurate record-keeping, and clear coordination among board members. She is an Indigenous Social Work professional with a background in Business Management and currently works in the mining industry. Her training and professional experience equip her with strong organizational, operational, and coordination capabilities. Cathy is passionate about advancing cultural preservation, community engagement, holistic wellness, and community empowerment. She brings a balanced perspective that values accountability, collaboration, and culturally responsive leadership in support of sustainable organizational growth and promotes inclusive decision-making aligned with ethical practice and long-term community impact outcomes.
Nellie has over two decades of experience across high school and college classrooms, she has dedicated her career to the power of knowledge. Currently, she serves on the Board as Director of Education, where she is in charge of sourcing expert speakers to champion financial literacy for Afro Canadian women. Her mission is to demystify complex financial systems and provide the tools necessary for informed decision-making. By combining her background in English language instruction with life-skills advocacy, she empowers young adults and immigrants to navigate their futures with confidence and clarity.
Elizabeth serves as the Director ROSCA program, overseeing the Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCA) program; which is a cornerstone of the cooperative’s mission. She provides strategic management and diligent oversight of all ROSCA activities, ensuring they operate with high integrity, transparency, and alignment with AWC’s long-term objectives.
A dedicated nurse by profession, Elizabeth translates her clinical discipline into the boardroom. She brings exceptional sound judgment, professional expertise, and a deep-rooted sense of accountability to her governance role. Her unique ability to balance administrative precision with a community-focused perspective ensures the program remain a reliable vehicle for collective financial empowerment.