Roberta Annan

In 2016 Roberta Annan was inducted into the Africa Leadership Hall of Fame in New York, reported as the youngest African to receive the honour. She had started out in biochemistry before moving into fashion, investment and development finance.

Early life and education

She was born on 2 December 1982 in Accra and attended SOS-Hermann Gmeiner International College. Her first degree, in biochemistry, came from Carleton University in Canada, where she finished with top honours; she then took a master's in biotechnology at Georgetown University.

Career

She joined the United Nations as an intern in 2008 and later worked as a UN consultant on fundraising. In 2011 she founded the Africa Fashion Foundation, and from 2011 to 2015 she held the Miss Universe Ghana franchise, which she gave up after complaints about how the contest was run. Her consultancy, set up in 2012, became Annan Capital Partners in 2016, an investment firm focused on Africa, and she co-founded IFFAC, a €100 million impact fund for African creative businesses. She was later named a UNEP goodwill ambassador for the creative economy.

Recognition and family

She was Fashionpreneur of the Year at the 2020 Global Style Icon Awards. She lives in Accra with her mother and her son.