Maybe I am biased. Okay I guess I am, but recently it felt like I am noticing a lot of Ghanaians doing their thing and being innovators, creative leaders, disruptors and entrepreneurs.
Obviously, there are lots of Kenyans, South Africans, Senegalese and Nigerians etc. doing their thing, too. I just felt like shining a light on Ghanaians for this blog post – sorry, not sorry ;-). And no, this Top 10 is by no means complete, and some of the names listed represent small, emerging brands. Others are Legends. I just picked the 10 Ghanaians who’s personal brand, business, creativity, legacy, mojo and drive I admire. This should finally be a blog post even my dad will read – LOL.
Here is my list of 10 Ghanaians you should know. Agree or Disagree with my selection? Comment below!
Ozwald Boateng – Legend
- Lots of accomplishments, there shouldn’t be anyone out there who doesn’t know yet who he is!
Creator of high-end menswear fashion, dressed celebrities like Jamie Foxx and Will Smith- Signature mark are slim, tailored suites in bold colors
- Creative Director for Givenchy
- Passionate about advancing the African continent and created “Made in Africa” to connect African enterprises with international investors
- “Every African has an obligation to build a better Africa“
- Find out more: http://ozwaldboateng.co.uk/
Creator of high-end menswear fashion, dressed celebrities like Jamie Foxx and Will Smith
Bozoma St John – Chief Brand Officer at Uber
- Her Insta and Twitter name are telling #badassboz
- It needs a badass African woman to deal with the “bro”culture at Uber
- Bozoma worked at Pepsi and Beats Music to name a few and was the Head of Global Consumer Marketing of Apple Music
- Very inspiring woman and there are not many women, and especially not many Black women, in the driving seat in Silicon Valley
- Bozoma encourages to bring your real self to the office!
- Find out more: https://twitter.com/badassboz
Michaela Coel – Creator of TV Series “Chewing Gum”
- Chewing Gum is as a sitcom that is somewhat weird, sometimes yuckee and at the same time hilarious – it’s probably not for everyone, but I watched all of it on Netflix in one weekend.
- Chewing Gum was written by Michaela Coel who also portrays the main character Tracey
- The NYT crowned it one of the best TV Shows of 2016 and she won the BAFTA for the sitcom = “Best Female Performance in a Comedy Program“
- Find out more: https://www.instagram.com/michaelacoel/
Samuel Bazawule aka Blitz The Ambassador – Musician
- Brooklyn-based Musician and Film Maker
- His short films have premiered at BAM New Voices in Black Cinema
- My favorite album is “Afropolitan Dreams“
- He just recently rocked the crowd at AfroPunk Brooklyn
- Find out more: https://www.facebook.com/BlitzAmbassador/
Essie Bartels – Founder of Essie Spice
- Beautiful packaging and bombastic taste combined: Essie makes spices sexy and stylish.
- I fell in love with this brand over Instagram!
- It is about time the world gets to spice up their food with some West African flavor – and now I can make original Kelewele without having to mix all the spices myselfooo
- Her spices are already being sold at Whole Foods
- Find out more: https://www.essiespice.com/
Edward Kobina Enninful – Editor in Chief of the British Vogue
- That a Black man and on top of that an African is now in charge of Vogue UK is just dope
- His dad wanted him to be a lawyer (side-eye to all African Dads, please come-up with new job profiles besides lawyer and doctor :-)
- Enninful was appointed fashion director of I-D magazine at the age of 18!
- Over the years he contributed as fashion & style director to W Magazine, American Vogue and Italian Vogue
- Find out more: https://www.instagram.com/edward_enninful
Kofi Siriboe aka KoFine Siriboe – Actor
- Most talked about for playing Ralph Angel in Ava DuVernay’s series “Queen Sugar” and his recent appearance in the blockbuster “Girls Trip”. When he first appeared on screen in “Girls Trip”, the whole movie theater erupted in “oohhs” and “aahhs”.
- Can’t wait to see what he will be doing next
- Find out more: https://twitter.com/kofisiriboe
Sam Mensah – Founder of Kisua
Kisua offers stylish, modern clothing Made in Africa- This is quite an AfroPolitan enterprise as Kisua is based in South Africa, founded by a Ghanaian and the name means “well dressed person” in Swahili
- One of the most successful and consistent online shopping platforms that markets Made in Africa designs
- Find out more: https://kisua.com/
Kisua offers stylish, modern clothing Made in Africa
El Anatsui – Sculptor / Artist / Legend
- El Anatsui creates big sculptures out of bottle tops, wood, metal and clay – his creations look like golden, royal fabric
- Since I saw his installations 4 years ago I am a fan and I keep on seeing references to him and his work whenever I go to exhibitions of modern African artists
- He received the Golden Lion for lifetime achievements by the Venice Biennale
- Find out more: http://el-anatsui.com/
Akosua Afriyie-Kumi – Founder of AAKS
- Akosua made baskets trendy again and turned Raffia bags into a high-end accessory
- Her fashion brand AAKs is produced in Ghana and also sold by Urban Outfitters
- Find out more: http://www.aaksonline.com/
Totally biased as well :) I absolutely love Michaela Coel. She cracks me up!