African grocery store in Yellowknife highlights francophone entrepreneurship
By Mohamed-Amin Kehel, Francis Tessier-Burns
‘I want to supply the North, so that all Africans can feel at home,’ says owner of home-based Tensy Market
Stepping into Mama Sylla’s Tensy Market in Yellowknife, one is struck by the scent of spices in the air, a stark contrast to the suffocating smell of wildfire smoke outside.
The market is a truly homegrown business — it’s run out of Sylla’s living room. Stocked shelves line the walls instead of couches, and a cash register and scale have replaced the TV.
Started on a whim six years ago, Tensy Market has grown into a staple for Yellowknife’s African community to find products from home.
Originally from Senegal, Mama Sylla spent six years in Montreal before moving to Yellowknife in 2016, ready for new challenges and adventures.
“I was thinking, 10 provinces and three territories, what does that look like? So I decided to come see for myself,” she said.
During those first years in the N.W.T., she made many return trips to Montreal to stock up on African goods that weren’t available in Yellowknife.
Word got around and she soon found herself getting requests from friends and friends-of-friends to bring back this or that product.
Since moving to Yellowknife, Sylla has been working as an administrative assistant for the local francophone school board. At the same time, her store — what she calls her “baby” — has grown from a couple of shelves to a stocked storeroom of goods.
Setting an example
Tensy Market is one of several successful businesses launched by francophone newcomers in Yellowknife over the last few years, according to the Conseil de développement économique des Territoires du Nord-Ouest (CDETNO), which also gave Sylla a helping hand in establishing her business.
“There are many people immigrating from Africa, not only in Yellowknife, but in every territory,” said Haudry Escandón, one of CDETNO’s economic development agents.
According to the organization, 135 people from Africa — mostly from Cameroon, Congo, Eritrea, Senegal, Kenya, or Sudan — came to the N.W.T. in 2024-2025. That same time period saw eight new businesses start up in the francophone immigrant community with many more in the works, ranging from child care, to online retail, to accounting, to welding.
“With a new source of immigration comes a new entrepreneurial culture,” said Escandón.
Both she and Sylla see a growing African community as an opportunity for Tensy Market.
“What’s missing when you first arrive? It’s those products from your country, your home,” said Escandón, speaking from experience as she’s originally from Colombia.
With plans for distribution hubs in Hay River and in Nunavut, Sylla hopes to one day reach customers beyond the N.W.T.
“I want to supply the North, so that all Africans can feel at home as if they were in Africa,” she said.
Keeping prices affordable
As with many northern businessowners, Sylla has to balance high transportation costs with keeping prices low.
While she’s long abandoned filling her own luggage in favour of wholesalers and transport trucks, her goal remains affordability.
“My mission is to sell African products for a good price, because the cost of living in Yellowknife is very high,” said Sylla.
“Many immigrants have two, three jobs to make ends meet,” she added. “That’s why I’ve told myself I want to keep costs low — because basic African products are expensive in Canada.”
When asked how she ensures the business also remains profitable, she answers without hesitation.
“The money will come later.”
In the meantime, the grocery store allows her to experience different food from her home continent, and learn new names for some of her products.
“I don’t just get to sell, I also get to taste some of the dishes,” she said. “I’ve been around Africa by staying in Yellowknife.”
She also sees the store as a way to give back to the community.
“I didn’t just open it for me,” she said. “It’s a way for me to thank Canada, which took me in. This grocery store is for all of Yellowknife.”
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Northern entrepreneurship program focuses on Indigenous languages, CBC News
Finland: Researcher seeks to improve immigrant employment in Northern Finland, Yle News
Sweden: More unemployed are to be convinced to move to jobs in the North, Radio Sweden
