The Business of Belonging and the Strategic Navigation of the “Middle Ground: Jean Francois on The Journey – Africans in Verona
When Jean Francois stepped off the plane from the Ivory Coast into -7$°C snow of a 1990s Italian winter, he didn’t just face a change in climate, he faced a total reimagining of self. Decades later, this Ivorian businessman has turned that “devastating impact” into a blueprint for success in Verona. He was one of the first contact Obehi Ewanfoh interviewed in (The Journey) his extensive research into the presences of Africans in northern Italy. The project has fast transformed into a global initiative, serving the global African diaspora community of hundreds of millions of people.
Learn How to Leverage Your Story through our Story To Asset Framework.
Through the lens of Obehi Ewanfoh’s Story to Asset™ framework, Francois’ life serves as a definitive case study in The Business of Belonging. He moves beyond the simple story of a newcomer, offering instead a sophisticated navigation of market dynamics and social shifts.
His journey proves that the “Middle Ground” is not a place of compromise, but a position of power for those who know how to align their history with their future.
Excavation – The Pivot from Student to Survivor
In the Story to Asset™ framework, Phase 1 (Excavation) is about finding the moment a life mission changes based on reality. Jean Francois arrived in Verona with a specific goal: to study.
However, the reality of Economic Tenancy, the state of relying on a system you do not yet own or understand, hit him quickly.
Without the financial “means” to sustain a traditional academic path, he faced a crossroads that many in the Diaspora recognize: give up or pivot. He chose to pivot.
“At the beginning, it was difficult because not having the means to sustain these studies, I had to take another direction,” Jean Francois recalls.
This pivot is the birth of the entrepreneur. He moved from the theoretical world of the classroom to the visceral reality of the Italian streets.
See also See also From Tenant to Sovereign: Reclaiming the Soul of African Education with Jeewan Chanicka
By excavating his need for independence, he began the long process of building a life that wasn’t dependent on a scholarship or a benefactor, but on his own labor and eventual business acumen.
Translation – Navigating the “Two Faces” of Curiosity
Translation is about turning lived experiences, especially the painful ones, into clear brand messages and market insights. Jean Francois provides a unique translation of Italian society during his first 22 years in the country. He describes the early years as a paradox.
On one hand, there was the physical danger of the “Skinheads”, youths “without hair, in black jackets” who roamed the streets. He recounts a harrowing bus ride where a sympathetic driver likely saved him from a violent encounter with a mob.
Yet, on the other hand, he translates that era as being “more beautiful” than the present day because of a specific human quality: Curiosity.
“I went to visit an elderly lady at her home… her first reaction was to touch my skin to see if I lost the color. It was curiosity. At the time, there was more curiosity, not this mistrust.”
Ewanfoh identifies this as a critical “Sovereign” insight: Curiosity is a bridge; fear is a wall. Jean Francois realized that the “anger” in modern society is often a byproduct of people not finding solutions to their own problems.
When a system fails its citizens, they seek a “scapegoat.” By translating this social friction, Jean Francois learned to navigate the market not as a “victim” of racism, but as a strategist who understands the psychological state of his environment.
Alignment – The Sovereign Power of the “New Generation”
The Alignment Phase of the framework focuses on positioning oneself within the future market. Jean Francois does not look backward with longing; he looks forward to the demographic shift. He is a firm believer in the “New Generation” as the ultimate asset for Italy’s survival.
See also Legacy Building: Creating a long-lasting Impact for Future Generations and Personal Fulfillment
He argues that the children of immigrants, regardless of whether the law has caught up to their reality, are the “new tools” for the country’s evolution. He points to figures like Mario Balotelli as signals of a world that is inevitably moving toward the “United States model” of cultural blending.
“The future is this… the world will go in this direction. We must help our children build this future, not set them against each other at school because one comes from Morocco and another from Sri Lanka.”
For the businessman, this is Strategic Alignment. By ensuring his own children, who are “automatically Italian” through their mother, are prepared for this blended future, he is protecting his family’s legacy.
He recognizes that while the color of their skin might distinguish them, their “reasoning is identical” to their peers. He is aligning his family’s future with the inevitable direction of the global market.
Creation – Challenging the “Home” Narrative
Creation involves generating authentic, high-impact content and ideas. Jean Francois creates a powerful “So What?” regarding the concept of “returning home.” After 22 years, the Africa he left no longer exists, and he has been transformed by his European experience.
“If I had to decide tomorrow morning to return, it would be difficult… after 22 years you have to restart everything. There is a new Africa that we do not know… we are caught between how we lived once and the new experience.”
This is a candid correction of the common “Economic Tenant” myth, the idea that one can always just “go back” to exactly how things were. Jean Francois teaches us that the only way to create a stable future is to build it where you stand.
His “Creation” is a new identity: one that is Ivorian by blood, Italian by experience, and Sovereign by choice.
Legacy – The “Fortress of Peace” vs. the “Home to Bar” Trap
The final phase, Legacy, is where Jean Francois expresses his deepest concern and his most profound “Sovereign” goal. He views the European model of aging with skepticism.
In his neighborhood, he sees retired men who live a repetitive cycle of “home to bar, home to bar,” having no social role or intellectual output.
“I wouldn’t want to grow old in Europe because I see that young people are not willing to give space to the elderly. In Africa, when you are old, you become a source for everyone. They need your advice.”
This is the “Fortress of Peace” in action. Jean Francois is not just working for a paycheck; he is working to avoid a legacy of insignificance. He desires a future where he is a “Source”, a fountain of wisdom and a cultural asset for his community, rather than a “cost” to the state.
See also Verona University Screens Veronetta: The New Face of a Neighborhood, A Documentary By Obehi Ewanfoh
Ewanfoh reports that this is the ultimate goal of the Story to Asset™ framework: to move from being a “prey” (as Jean Francois felt in his early days) to being a “Source” (as he intends to be in his later years).
Owning Your Future in a Changing World
Obehi Ewanfoh’s reporting on Jean Francois offers three definitive lessons for any ordinary person looking to improve their life and protect their family:
- Don’t Project Your Fears: Jean Francois notes that children “when they meet, they don’t be afraid.” It is the parents who project their own history of trauma onto the next generation. To own your genius, you must stop teaching your children to be afraid of the world you navigate.
- Recognize the “New Tools”: The second generation possesses “new instruments” of globalized reasoning. They are not “foreigners”; they are the update the system needs.
- Build Your Own “Source”: If you don’t want to end up in the “home to bar” trap of retirement, you must build a legacy where your advice and experience are marketable assets.
Your Next Step Toward Institutional Sovereignty
Jean Francois’s journey from -7°C snow to a settled business life in Verona is a story of extreme adaptation. He shifted his direction when he had to, translated his environment with wit, and aligned his hopes with the generation to come.
Are you ready to move beyond “Economic Tenancy”? Are you building a future where you are a “Source” of wisdom and wealth, or are you just passing time between “home and the bar”?
The bridge to your Sovereign future is waiting. At AClasses Academy, we use the Story to Asset™ framework to help you excavate your unique journey and turn it into a fortress.
