Amid the racial protests, the rapid spread of COVID-19, and the accelerated unemployment particularly among people of color, a Chesterfield, Virginia based culi-tech Black-owned company, Vibrainium Learning, Inc., launches the GotSoul? App – a restaurant guide that features just under 5,000 African inspired cuisine, restaurants, and experiences (Cajun, Creole, Nigerian, Gullah, Soul Food, Jamaican, Afro-Brazilian, etc.) across Africa and the African Diaspora, of which 98% are Black-owned. Those cuisines culinary roots derive from Africa, for us in the United States it began in 1619 when the first Africans arrived on the Virginia shores.
The Got Soul? App was scheduled to launch in February 2020, but the beta launch was pushed back due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Vibrainium Learning, Inc. was founded in 2017 by seasoned Restaurateur and Corporate foodservice executive Curtiss Stancil. He comments, “We are living in unprecedented times to launch a new business, but it is more vital now than ever for communities of color in the United States and across the world to have a platform that prioritizes them. Our Black-owned businesses, particularly, restaurants and culture experience operators are really suffering the most and we want to lift them up, provide solutions and relief for them during this difficult time. Our minority restaurants and experience operators need community support because they are the backbone of our African Inspired Culture across the world. We are committed to helping business owners, restaurants, and experience operators not only survive but thrive. That is why we have powered forward to launch the GotSoul? App, we have solutions that can help our community.”
For over 400 years in this country people of African descent have had to be very intentional about preserving our African roots and culture in a country that was not systematically designed for our success and efforts to be realized, which is evident by the over 20,000 African- inspired restaurants that exist across the USA and beyond, they must survive.
The Got Soul? App allows consumers to search and identify locally-owned African inspired restaurants in their communities and beyond, locate exclusive digital promotions from those businesses, purchase exclusive cultural experiences in cities across the country (wine tastings, city tours, private restaurant dining experiences, and more). The digital promotions allow businesses to generate revenue during non- peak operating hours. Elaborating on the cultural experiences, the GotSoul? App features African inspired experiences such as food tours, city culture tours, and sporting event packages to HBCU football games in the United States. Stancil stated, “Our experience business on the Got Soul? App, which is a major feature, has been in limbo due to government community reopen restrictions and guidelines both in the USA and across the world due to COVID-19.”
The Got Soul? App which is available for immediate download on both the Apple Store and Google Play Store, features African-inspired cuisine, restaurants, and experiences across the United States, Canada, Europe, Brazil, Caribbean, and Africa. Coming from a legacy of great African-descendant entrepreneurs, restaurant owners, dieticians, and chefs. Stancil comments, “Food has the power to heal!” Whether it is a protest, wedding, graduation, or funeral; food can help ease the pain, especially, if it is prepared with love and lots of soul. So, we ask do you GotSoul?