APNI x eBay Black History Month Event | Celebrating Black-Owned Businesses

On Saturday, 18th October, eBay APNI proudly hosted the Celebrating Black-Owned Businesses event — a vibrant celebration of Black-owned businesses across Ireland in honour of Black History Month.

The event, held in collaboration with eBay, brought together entrepreneurs, professionals, and community members for a day of connection, inspiration, and empowerment. It also marked the official launch of the eBay Accelerator Programme, designed to support and elevate Black-owned businesses across Ireland.

The ebay Team with some of the attendees and business exhibitors

Showcasing Black Excellence

The day began with a lively networking breakfast and business exhibition, featuring 15 incredible Black-owned brands, including: The Mikazzi Brand, Niriris, Uncultured and Young, House of Abia , Artbyifeolu, M.I.O Prints, Byo Cosmetics, Ayò, Harmony Brew Tea, Tineys, Ije Jaraa, Jacque, Umoja Linn, Emerald & Wax and Soy Joy Candle.

Attendees had the opportunity to connect directly with business owners, explore products, and learn more about the innovation and creativity thriving within Ireland’s Black business community.

Inspiring Stories and Empowering Conversations

The main event kicked off with welcome remarks from Edima Inyang, President of APNI, and Siobhan Curtin, Site Lead at eBay Ireland. This was followed by a powerful testimonial from Omoroinke Fisher, who shared her inspiring success story of selling on eBay over the past 18 months, highlighting how the eBay Start-Up Accelerator Programme has transformed her business journey.

After a networking lunch and more time to explore the exhibition, the day continued with a thought-provoking panel discussion on “Empowering Black-Owned Businesses Through Digital Platforms.”

The panel featured:

• Helen Zidon-Chapweteka, APNI Vice President

• Colin McCalion, Senior Business Development, Strategy and Operations Manager at eBay

• Kieran Leahy, Global Director of Customer Value Creation at eBay

• Virtue Shine, Founder of Emerald & Wax

• Liswa McDonald, Co-founder of Umoja Linn

Left to right; Helen, Virtue, Kieran, Liswa and Colin

Virtue and Liswa shared their journeys as entrepreneurs, the challenges they’ve faced and the importance of access to funding and community support — while Colin and Kieran reaffirmed eBay’s ongoing commitment to empowering diverse sellers and creating inclusive opportunities for growth.

eBay Accelerator Launch

The highlight of the afternoon was the official launch of the eBay Accelerator Programme, which offers members of the APNI community tools to help them establish and grow their online businesses.

The event concluded with a renewed sense of purpose and connection, leaving attendees inspired and motivated to continue championing Black excellence in business.

A Note of Gratitude

A heartfelt thank you to eBay, all the businesses that exhibited, and the APNI volunteers whose dedication made this celebration of Black entrepreneurship a resounding success.

Together, we continue to build a thriving ecosystem where Black-owned businesses in Ireland can grow, scale, and shine.