Deborah Ahenkorah (born 20 April 1987) is a Ghanaian educator and activist, co-founder and CEO of Golden Baobab, a social enterprise that aims to promote

African literature African literature is literature from Africa, either oral ("orature") or written in African and Afro-Asiatic languages. Examples of pre-colonial African literature can be traced back to at least the fourth century AD. The best-known is the ''Keb ...

for children, awarding the annual

Golden Baobab Prize The Golden Baobab Prize (formerly The Baobab Prize) is awarded annually to African writers of children's literature and young adult literature. The Golden Baobab Prize accepts entries of unpublished short stories written by African citizens irresp ...

. She studied at

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

, and has been named by the Echoing Green Fellowship as "one of the most innovative contributions to change in today's world." In 2013, Ahenkorah was part of the New Voices Fellowship at the

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...

Biography

Ahenkorah was born and raised in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. She attended

, where she served as co-chair of the "Bryn Mawr's African Students" organization. She hold Bachelor of Arts-Psychology and Archaeology from University of Ghana. She was also the founder of Project Educate in Africa, and a resident consultant and participant in the Global Fund for Children and the European Union Parliament. Ahenkorah was part of the Starting Bloc Fellowship, and was also involved in the

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...

Women's Summit. Her organization, Golden Baobab is a literary nonprofit social enterprise committed to the development of children’s literature across Africa.

References

External links

* Summer Edward
"Foreign Correspondence: An Interview with Deborah Ahenkorah: Torchbearer for African Children’s Publishing"
''The Horn Book'', 21 November 2006. Ghanaian activists 1987 births Living people Bryn Mawr College alumni Ghanaian educators People from Accra {{Ghana-bio-stub