Becoming BPROUD

Meet the founders of clothing brand BPROUD and learn how they reclaimed pride in their culture through the brand that they created.

Kibondo, Tanzania is the birthplace of Japhety Ngabireyimana and Jospin Mugisha, cousins who grew up in homes without running water or electricity, hearing gunshots from the neighboring war. Their families gained asylum to the United States.

In high school, the cousins faced discrimination... “We were laughed at for our accents,” they said. “As we got older, jokes became more aggressive. We started to hate our culture. We wanted to lose all trace of our tradition. We didn't want to dress, look or sound like Africans anymore.”

“Now, we refuse to allow others’ words to paint a picture of who we are,” they said. “We are as African as the music, the beat, the melody and the tune.” In 2020, their concept for Bproud was born — a clothing brand to inspire people to be proud of their race, ethnicity, sexuality and gender identity and a microphone for the message of affirmation both Japhety, marketing director, and Jospin, art director, spread. Both are engaged in the design, development, marketing and selling of Bproud’s apparel: hoodies, shorts and shirts, with the collection expanding. Visit BProud at Booth #155.

“Success to us isn’t about selling thousands of clothes; success is saying we changed our customers’ lives for the better.”