Global Villages, a gift shop opened
by Rwanda native, Louise Sano, will be celebrating its two-year anniversary in May.
The boutique carries
things that are one of a
kind ranging from jewelry to home décor. Sano has visited 20 countries on four
continents. Sano gets her inventory from Rwanda, as well as 17 other countries
including Kenya, Ecuador and Peru.
“These past two years I
haven’t had a life, it has been business, all business,” Sano said.
Global Villages' current location at 216 Grant St. began as the West Side Bazaar, which served as a business
incubator for immigrants from various countries to help them become
entrepreneurs.
The Bazaar was started
by the Westminster Economic Development Initiative (WEDI) whose mission is to “to
improve the quality of life for the residents of Buffalo’s West Side”. Since then, the Bazaar has moved to 25
Grant St. Sano is a graduate of the program and her store occupies the Bazaar's original location.
Since
opening Global Villages in May 2012, Sano opened her second boutique,
Global Chic a few stores down at 242 Grant St. This location provides more fashion trends from around the
world and even offers seamstress services.
“This year I’m going to concentrate on
building the businesses and having my own life,” Sano said. “Invest more, do
more promotion and maintain what I already have.” By Jamie Hall, Kamesha Jones and Jazminia Rivera
