Jessica Nabongo

Jessica Nambowa Damarie Nassaka Nabongo is a Ugandan American travel blogger and author who gained public attention in 2019 after having visited every country in the world. Her assertion she was the first Black woman to have done so was disputed. Early life and education Nabongo was born in Detroit, Michigan to Rose Mary Namubiru and Ephraim Mukasa Nabongo, Ugandans who settled in the United States in 1969;

She attended St. John's University in New York City where she acquired a social sciences Master's degree

Career After completing college, she worked at a pharmaceutical company for two years, taught English in Japan and worked for the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization.

As of 2016, she had already visited 60 countries. In February 2017 she decided to visit all 193 UN member countries and the two nonmember observing states of the world. She documented each of her visits to a new country on her blog.

Nabongo notes that there is some controversy over her record as she was unable to enter Syria and instead chose to visit the Golan Heights, which the United Nations Security Council considers to be Syrian territory occupied by Israel. Her claim of being the first Black woman to visit every country was also disputed by Woni Spotts.

Nabongo founded a travel agency called Jet Black, which created itineraries for small group trips to Africa.