[6] After graduating from high school in Georgetown, Ali left on 12 August 1957 for London, England, intending to study economics,[2] and arrived at Victoria Station on 3 September,[7] having travelled to Britain via the Canary Islands, Spain, Italy and France.
[9] In 1966 Ali started to run a greengrocer's in Tottenham Lane, an area with a significant Caribbean population in north London, and before long, as Carolyn Cooper notes, "his business place became a vibrant cultural centre".
[2] He sold the food shop and in 1970 founded Hansib Publications — named after his parents, Haniff and Nasibun (Sibby) — [4] specifically to cater for this readership and in April 1971 the company published The Westindian Digest, a magazine for Britain's West Indian communities.
"[18] By the time of its 40th anniversary, in 2010, Hansib had brought out more than 200 titles,[19] in categories encompassing politics, history, culture, sport, cookery, to multicultural literature including poetry, fiction and memoir, with claims to have for more than four decades "reflected and chronicled the achievements and struggles, the turmoils and frustrations, and the hopes and dreams of Britain's Caribbean, African and Asian communities.
"[16] Ali himself has edited some of the company's successful titles, among them the Nations Series, illustrated portraits of countries, such as Jamaica Absolutely, Trinidad and Tobago: Terrific and Tranquil and Guyana at 50: Reflection, Celebration and Inspiration.