Hospitality is often described as service, but at its highest level, it becomes something far more powerful. It becomes a vehicle for cultural exchange, economic empowerment, and identity. Few leaders embody this intersection as clearly as Colin Asare-Appiah. From his upbringing in Ghana to his professional journey in the UK and now Brooklyn, Colin has built a career that goes beyond bartending or brand building. He has helped reshape how hospitality reflects culture, ownership, and representation on a global stage.
As a globally respected hospitality leader, author of Black Mixcellence, and co-founder of AJABU, Colin has spent decades championing African excellence, restoring overlooked legacies, and creating platforms that empower the next generation. His work sits at the crossroads of storytelling, entrepreneurship, and structural change. Through AJABU, he is not only elevating African hospitality but also redefining what ownership and influence look like in an industry that shapes culture worldwide.
In this interview with Exeleon Magazine, Colin shares how his journey across continents shaped his worldview, why documenting overlooked histories matters, and how he is building systems that ensure lasting impact in global hospitality.
Your journey from Ghana to the UK and now Brooklyn has shaped a truly global perspective. How did your early experiences influence your path into the world of hospitality and spirits?
I was raised in Ghana, where hospitality isn’t transactional, it’s cultural. Welcoming someone into your space is an act of honor. That philosophy shaped my worldview long before I understood hospitality as an industry.
Moving to the UK introduced me to the complexities of identity and belonging. I became aware of how spaces can either affirm you or marginalize you. That awareness stayed with me. When I entered the world of spirits, I recognized that hospitality sits at the center of culture, commerce, and community. It’s one of the few industries where storytelling, economics, and human connections converge.
Brooklyn later reinforced that perspective. It’s a global crossroads, entrepreneurial, diasporic, and creative. My journey across three continents didn’t just give me range; it gave me clarity. Hospitality is infrastructure. It shapes how cultures are understood and how communities build wealth.
AJABU represents more than cocktails, it represents culture, identity, and opportunity. What has it meant to you to see African hospitality gain global recognition?
For too long, Africa has been positioned as inspiration without ownership, a source of ingredients and aesthetics but rarely recognized as a leader in premium hospitality. Seeing African hospitality gain global recognition signals a long-overdue correction.
What matters most is not simply visibility, but valuation. When African-led brands occupy space in global markets, when indigenous ingredients are celebrated with proper attribution, and when African talent is invested in at scale, it shifts the economic narrative. It moves us from cultural contribution to commercial authority.
AJABU exists to ensure that African excellence isn’t treated as a seasonal trend or diversity initiative, but as a permanent pillar within global hospitality. Recognition is meaningful. Sustainable ownership is transformative.
Your book Black Mixcellence highlights the legacy of Black bartenders and entrepreneurs. Why was it important to document and share these stories?
Industries are shaped by the stories they choose to remember. The modern cocktail world owes much of its foundation to Black bartenders in the 19th century and beyond, yet their contributions were largely erased from mainstream history.
Black Mixcellence was about restoring that lineage, not simply to honor the past, but to recalibrate the present. In business, legitimacy often comes from documented legacy. When you can trace excellence across generations, it challenges the myth that Black professionals are new entrants rather than foundational architects.
Documenting these stories reframes the conversation from access to inheritance. It reminds emerging entrepreneurs that they are not asking for a seat at the table, they are reclaiming one that was always theirs.
Throughout your career, you’ve often been one of the few minorities in the room. How has that experience shaped your leadership and your commitment to creating access for others?
Being “the only” sharpens your awareness of structural imbalance. It also clarifies your responsibility.
Early in my career, I understood that visibility without access is symbolic. So I became intentional about building pathways, not just personal success. That means mentorship, strategic partnerships that prioritize inclusion, and platforms that amplify emerging talent.
Leadership, to me, is about leverage, using influence to reduce friction for those coming behind you. Talent is evenly distributed. Opportunity is not. Closing that gap requires intentional design.
As an Influential Black Leader, what responsibility do you feel to reshape representation and open doors within the global hospitality industry?
Representation shapes markets. It influences hiring, investment, and consumer perception.
I feel a responsibility to normalize Black ownership and executive leadership in global hospitality, not as a diversity initiative, but as a standard of excellence. That means advocating for equity in supply chains, pushing for capital access, and challenging institutions to commit to long-term inclusion.
Black History Month is a moment of reflection, but the work is structural and ongoing. Sustainable change happens when representation is embedded in business models, not campaigns.
You’ve spent decades mentoring and educating others. What separates those who truly build lasting impact from those who simply build careers?
Careers are often built on achievement. Impact is built on contribution.
Those who create lasting change understand that success is scalable only when knowledge is shared. They invest in systems, not just accolades. They think generationally.
In hospitality, that means developing talent, documenting culture, and building brands that outlive individual personalities. Legacy is measured by what continues when you step back.
Looking ahead, how do you envision AJABU evolving, and what role do you hope it plays in shaping the future of African and global hospitality?
I see AJABU evolving into a global platform, one that integrates product innovation, education, and strategic partnerships across the African continent and the diaspora.
The goal is not simply market presence. It’s market influence. I want AJABU to help redefine luxury in hospitality, grounded in provenance, sustainability, and cultural intelligence.
If we do it right, AJABU won’t just participate in the global conversation, it will help set the agenda.
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