Founder story
I didn't discover China to create Black China.
Zahra
Founder & CEO
Between entrepreneurship, international trade and professional experiences, my path was built across several markets, several cultures and one obsession: understanding how to turn an opportunity into a concrete project.
Explore my journeyAt a glance
Cities explored in China
France · Africa · China
An international path
Bac+5
Management & Business Development
Entrepreneur
Even before Black China
Timeline
Every chapter, at your own pace.
Nothing is open by default: browse the titles, then open only what interests you.
The beginnings
First steps in trade
Entrepreneurship did not appear with Black China.
I became interested in trade very early on: understanding how a product finds its market, how an offer is built, how a business relationship is created.
Before settling in China, I had already developed several entrepreneurial projects and experiences. Black China is part of that continuity, not a sudden revelation.
Education
Management → International trade → Management
An academic path built in a logical progression.
Each stage extended the previous one: first the hands-on management of a business, then international business development, and finally management and business strategy.
- 01BTS — SME Management
- 02Bachelor — International Business Development Manager
- 03Master — Business ManagerLevel 7 professional certification
Experience
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Customer relations, sales and a results-driven culture.
A demanding, service- and performance-oriented environment, where you learn to listen to a real need before proposing a solution.
- Customer relations
- Sales
- Results-driven culture
- Understanding needs
- Business development
≈ 1.5 years
Business management
Manager of a mechanical and bodywork garage in Île-de-France.
For about a year and a half, I took part in the day-to-day running of a real business: management, sales, customer relations, organization, operations, management and business development.
- Management
- Sales
- Customer relations
- Organization
- Operations
- Management
- Business development
« Before advising entrepreneurs, I learned what it really means to run a business day to day. »
Events
Meta & major events
International environments and operational rigor.
I worked within the Meta environment, notably around Cannes Lions / Meta Beach, in Paris, and in an environment linked to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
These contexts taught me fine-grained coordination, attention to brand image and the level of demand expected on the customer experience.
- International environments
- Operational rigor
- Coordination
- Brand image
- Customer experience
Common thread
Entrepreneurship, before Black China
Creating a brand, selling, negotiating, managing suppliers.
Before Black China, I had already been an entrepreneur: creating a musk fragrance brand, then developing a business activity in Africa.
These experiences let me live the challenges of entrepreneurs from the inside.
- Buying
- Selling
- Negotiating
- Creating a brand
- Managing suppliers
- Building an offer
- Growing a customer base
- Taking risks
- Solving problems
« I don't talk about entrepreneurship only as a consultant. I lived it and I keep living it. »
Guangzhou, China
Today
China
A strategic and personal choice: understanding from the ground.
Settling in Guangzhou was not a simple expatriation, but a decision to observe the market directly where it happens.
I studied Mandarin there for a year at Guangdong University of Technology, before gradually broadening: markets, factories, suppliers, trade fairs, production, logistics and Chinese business culture.
- Markets
- Factories
- Suppliers
- Trade fairs
- Production
- Logistics
- Chinese business culture
« I didn't want to understand China from a screen. I wanted to understand it from the ground. »
20+ cities
China, beyond Guangzhou.
Over 20 Chinese cities explored. An understanding that doesn't stop at a single market.
19 cities visited — BLACK CHINA's field experience across China.
Explore
Tap or hover a point to see the city, its province and what it represents in the journey.
Continuous learning
Always learning.
Learnings gathered along the way — without turning this page into a list of certificates.
Alibaba
Training and programs followed around trade and the Alibaba ecosystem.
Artificial intelligence
Training and learning around AI and its business applications.
International trade
Ongoing learning and specialization.
Mandarin
Studies in China, at Guangdong University of Technology.
Network & ecosystem
Being where connections happen.
A gradual integration into the professional ecosystem, in China as much as internationally.
- Participation in professional and business events
The Black China moment
- Entrepreneurship
- Management
- International trade
- Africa
- Corporate experience
- China
Black China was born at the meeting point of all these experiences: a company designed to bring entrepreneurs and businesses closer to the reality of the ground in China.
Founder & CEO — Black China Trade & Consulting
Today
Today, Guangzhou.
I run Black China from Guangzhou and am gradually building an ecosystem around several areas of activity.
- Sourcing
- Production
- Quality control
- Logistics
- Consulting
- Business support
- Knowledge sharing
What's next
The journey continues.
Black China is not the culmination of my journey. It's the platform from which I'm building what comes next.