Hamamat Montia

Hamamat Montia is a Ghanaian model, entrepreneur and cultural advocate best known for her work promoting Ghanaian shea butter. Born on 22 July 1988 in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, she describes herself as a seventh-generation custodian of shea butter heritage.

Modelling

Montia attended Achimota School. She won Miss Malaika Ghana in 2006 and was crowned Model of Africa Universe in 2007. Essence magazine once included her in a list of the ten most beautiful women, and she built a strong following as a model who celebrated African beauty on her own terms.

Shea butter

Growing up, she saw how rural women in the north depended on shea butter production to survive while receiving little recognition or fair reward for their work. After modelling she turned to that industry, building a natural beauty business and establishing the Shea Butter Village and the Shea Butter Museum, initiatives that promote locally made products and traditional production methods.

Cultural ambassador

In February 2026 the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts appointed Montia as Ghana's Cultural Ambassador for Shea Butter. Pulse Ghana has described her as the woman redefining Ghana's shea butter heritage for the world, a fitting summary of a career that runs from pageant stages to the processing centres of the north.