YolanDa Brown to open Islington music venue and restaurant

On Islington Square, Soul Mama will serve ‘high-quality cuisine’ that fuses the ‘authentic tastes of Africa, the Caribbean and South America’. 

The restaurant is intended to provide a platform for under-represented musicians and chefs from across the globe, ‘filling a gap in the UK’s live music and restaurant space’.

The announcement of the launch follows what is being billed as the biggest ever fundraise for a restaurant on the Kickstarter platform with Brown and her business partner Adetokunbo “T” Oyelola attracting a total of £248,148.

"Throughout my career I have always had to think out of the box, innovate, find creative ways to be heard and seen, change perspectives all for the dream. My dreams are big, to add joy, light and laughter to as many lives as possible using music, education, food and more,” Brown says. 

“Soul Mama is special and will do just that, I am grateful to every single person that backed our crowdfund and I cannot wait for this new chapter.”

Running alongside Soul Mama will be the Soul Mama Foundation, a not-for-profit, charitable foundation with a percentage of the profits going to the foundation to support causes around women, children and education. 

The press information for the restaurant highlights that woman-led start-ups, particularly those founded by black women, continue to be underfunded. 

According to a recent study, black women receiving only 0.35 percent of all venture capital funding.