In the past 10 years, 1282 Africans have chosen to settle in the City of Maribyrnong. While the larger Brimbank and Dandenong municipalities have received almost double that figure, community leaders say Footscray is considered the capital because of its multiple African shops, restaurants, events and services.

Berhan Ahmed is chairman of the African Think Tank, an advocacy group. He says business is booming in Footscray.

In fact, the suburb displays all the colourful social and cultural life of some of Australia's newest communities - Ethiopian, Eritrean, Kenyan, Somalian and Sudanese.

"Footscray is a hub now, where most [African] people go for shopping, social life and food," says Mr Ahmed. "I bring a lot of people there, especially those [representing] service providers, to give them a feeling for how the services are working and not working."

Footscray police multicultural liaison officer Craig Spicer says Africans are the latest migrant community to have a positive influence on the inner-west.

"We have a bit of a friendly rivalry between Dandenong and Footscray; we both say we're the African capital because we've got all the restaurants, jewellery shops. It's a bit of fun, but I would say Footscray is the better example of how Africans have adapted and integrated." He shares one story of a policeman from Dandenong who travelled to Sudan to better understand how law enforcement worked in that country. Upon his return, he told other officers that Sudanese people considered Footscray "the place to be".

In February, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres visited the Nicholson Street Mall and praised Maribyrnong as a world example of a cohesive and multicultural community. Local services include the Adult Migrant Education Services, New Hope Foundation refugee resource centre, Women's Health West, African Community Development Centre, Horn of African Communities Network, Sudanese Welfare Centre, and River Nile Learning Centre. Footscray Rotary's Des Stayches says his group has two African members and expects to induct three more soon. "African people have visited us from Perth, Brisbane and Sydney to see how we're doing these things. They are very community-conscious."