Jessica Nabongo: Making History as the First Black Woman to Travel Everywhere

Content Creator and Travel Expert Jessica Nabongo (@jessicanabongo) joins CREATOR: the Podcast to discuss her journey as the first Black woman to visit every country in the world. She explains how reading about another traveler's global journey in 2017 inspired her to undertake her own mission to visit all 195 countries—completing it just months before the pandemic hit in 2019. Jessica offers a candid look at how she funded her travels without major brand partnerships, and the challenges of reaching remote destinations in the South Pacific and Central Africa. The conversation explores her evolution as a creator and entrepreneur: from launching a luxury travel agency to publishing with National Geographic, having her photography displayed at Christie's, and developing successful partnerships with major brands like Four Seasons and Expedia. Jessica also reveals her upcoming projects, including a new cookbook featuring one recipe from every country in the world, and shares honest advice about authenticity, financial management, and airline loyalty for aspiring travel creators. To learn more about CREATOR: The Podcast, visit creatorthepodcast.com 00:00 - Introduction to Jessica Nabongo: First Black Woman to visit every country 02:15 - Jessica's origin story: Growing up in Detroit with Ugandan parents 03:43 - Moving to Japan at age 23 05:38 - Learning Japanese and living as an expat 06:50 - Starting "The Catch Me If You Can" blog 08:44 - Following life's opportunities: Benin, Rome, and DC 09:22 - The decision to visit every country in the world 11:04 - The world of "country counting" and extreme travelers 12:35 - Strategy for visiting remaining countries 14:52 - The Seychelles: Jessica's final country celebration 16:47 - Post-journey: Media attention and the Nat Geo book deal 18:23 - Funding the journey: Working vs. brand partnerships 21:06 - Writing a book with National Geographic 24:27 - Highlighting underrepresented countries in her book 26:28 - Jessica's photography at Christie's auction house 28:37 - Recent brand partnerships: Four Seasons, Cadillac, and more 30:39 - Speaking engagements around the world 32:48 - Most lucrative aspects of Jessica's creator career 34:13 - Advice for aspiring travel creators: Find your "why" 36:33 - Jessica's new cookbook: "Catch Me in the Kitchen" 37:52 - Food origins and cultural identity through cuisine 39:19 - Jessica's top three countries if limited to only three 41:09 - Where to follow Jessica online

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