Lentini
Founder and Creative Director for the Ankara Festivals (AFLA) and Naija Entertainment. Through his years of service to the African community in Los Angeles, Lentini has proven himself a leading advocate for entrepreneurship, cultural pride and volunteerism. Creating jobs and business opportunities, Peter has forged a framework of partnerships that have now sprung an entire network of influential leaders and emerging brands, most of which derive from the entrepreneurial spirit of Africans now living in the US.
Each year, Ankara Fest in Los Angeles showcases about a dozen African designers, provides vending for various African-owned businesses and shares the stage with African music artists. These showcases have supported the efforts of organizations that continue to spread humanitarianism through their business structures including:
The Red Pump Project, founded by Luvie Ajayi (Nigeria) a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to educate women and girls of color about HIV. So far, over 3,500 safer sex kits and products have been distributed to promote health and awareness.
In affiliation with Ankara Fest, Modahnik, owned by designer, Kahindo Mateene (Congo) formed a partnership with Mamafrica, helping to empower women in Congo with job skills while allowing them to take part in the design process.
Royal Dynamite, owned by Cecil Williams, Raphael Saye and Nadia Sasso, has been supported by Ankara Festival through their RD Cares initiative. This program is geared at empowering and supporting school children growing up in marginalized and low income communities around the world by supplying educational care packages throughout Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Dominican Republic, England and the US.
Designer, Kibonen Nfi (Cameroon) partnered and showcased with Ankara Fest, bringing to light her new initiative Made in Camer. The fair-trade production center is based in Bamenda, Cameroon and has sales outlets in New York where products from the center and other local designers are sold.
Peter has also taken an active role in improving the lives of underprivileged communities through various charitable work such as feeding the homeless every year with PATH and donating a percentage of AFLA ticket sales to benefit a non-profit organization dedicated to health issues, poverty alleviation, disease eradication, education, and research.
Aligned with his commitment of benevolence, Lentini travels around the world through the TOMS “One-for-One” initiative giving shoes to children in need. This worldwide program also the gift of sight by providing free access to medical treatment, sight-saving surgery and prescription glasses to people living in disadvantaged areas.
As a thought leader in his industry, Peter has been invited to speak at corporate meetings such as the Global Sales Conference for TOMS and at prestigious universities including Yale and Stanford University addressing students, professors, and marketing executives.
With his love, passion, and pride for his culture, Peter Lentini is inspired to purposely and intentionally create possibilities of empowering and supporting a thriving community that can celebrate its astounding diversity through exposure to the African heritage and legacy.