One of seven children raised by a single mother in Sudan, Achan and her family fled the civil war to Egypt in 2000. At age nine she was forced into child labour to prevent her family from becoming homeless. “Some people that I worked for actually threatened me,” she says. “If I don’t clean properly they will take my life”.
Now 26, Achan has pushed through adversity with her strength and determination but still struggles to get a job in Australia. “I haven’t had any luck with people hiring me because usually they look at my skin and they just assume that I don’t know anything,” she says. “I try not to take it personally. I try to empower myself and keep being persistent and keep going.”
Achan’s business idea is to train residents of remote Australian communities as baristas at an espresso bar.
Where is she now?
As one of the 12 participants that made it to boot camp, Achan has progressed with her dream to provide barista training to remote communities. Alongside business partner Kai, Achan is preparing to launch Ivory Giraffe Espresso Bar and Barista Training, the only air-flow coffee roaster in Western Australia.
Inspired by North African and Australian Indigenous spices, the cafe will source fair trade and organic green beans to support sustainable and eco-friendly business practices.
Currently based in Perth, Achan and Kai have a goal to provide in-house hospitality based training to people from disadvantaged backgrounds within the next year or so. After that, their vision is to eventually expand the business to Broome and The Kimberley to provide training opportunities for people in remote and regional areas.
They are currently looking for investors to take their business to the next level.
