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If you’ve been looking for a simple, guilt-free way to put your dollars where your values are, let me introduce you to an app that’s been quietly changing the game: Miiriya.
Think of it like Amazon or Etsy — but built specifically for Black-owned businesses, by a Black woman, for the community.
What Is Miiriya?
Miiriya is a one-stop marketplace app where Black entrepreneurs, artists, and sellers can list and sell their fashion, beauty, and lifestyle products — and where shoppers can browse and buy from them all in one place. No more hunting down a dozen separate websites or wondering if that Instagram boutique is still active. Everything is right there.
The app was launched in 2020 by Lamine Loco, who named it after a word from her native language Bambara/Dioula meaning thoughts or ideas. That name says everything about her vision: a space where Black business ideas get the visibility and support they deserve.
Why This Matters
We talk a lot about supporting Black-owned businesses, especially around certain times of year. But intention without infrastructure only goes so far. One of the biggest barriers to consistently spending Black is simply not knowing where to find these businesses — or having to work three times as hard to track them down.
Miiriya removes that friction. Whether you’re in a major city or a conservative small town where Black-owned storefronts are few and far between, the app brings the marketplace to you.
What Makes It Different
Here’s what really sets Miiriya apart from other platforms: there are no vendor fees. No listing fees. No transaction fees. Loco even covers credit card and PayPal processing fees out of pocket so vendors keep 100% of what they earn. She funds the platform’s operating costs herself and runs the entire thing solo.
She’s also been offered millions for the app. She said no. Every time.
Her goal isn’t to build a billion-dollar company — it’s to build a tool the Black community can actually own and rely on. That’s not a marketing line. That’s the whole point.
The Mutual Aid Piece
Miiriya also has a Mutual Aid section — a space where vendors and buyers can post donation requests for things like bills, groceries, and housing support, and where community members can give what they can. It’s not just a shopping app. It’s infrastructure. It’s the kind of ecosystem thinking that recognizes spending Black and building Black go hand in hand.
How to Get It
Miiriya is available on both the App Store and Google Play. Vendors can sign up for free directly through the app or website. Shoppers can browse right away.
If you want to go a step further, there’s a Patreon where you can support the platform for as little as $1 a month — which goes directly toward keeping the servers running.
The next time you need to refresh your wardrobe, pick up a gift, or just want to browse, open Miiriya first. The businesses are there. The community is there. All we have to do is show up.
Have you shopped on Miiriya yet? Drop a comment and tell me your favorite find.
