Globetrotting, Facebook and Sci-Fi with Akua Gykekye

This episode marks my last conversation from the road for the time being. Wrapping up my Winter 2020 tour, I had the pleasure of meeting with Akua Gyekye at a bustling London eatery—please pardon the sound. Akua is Facebook’s Public Policy Manager for Africa and MENA Elections; she focuses on issues relating privacy, safety and security, freedom of expression, the impact of the Internet on economic growth, and new opportunities for democratic engagement in these regions.

Before joining Facebook, Akua, who is qualified to practice in NY and the UK, was a project finance lawyer, at Clifford Chance. Other roles took her to Nigeria and Liberia as a legal adviser and rule of law specialist at the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation; and as an anti-corruption lawyer at USAID. Akua also has government experience (the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development), NGO experience (the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, Lawyers Without Borders) and experience working for international think tanks (American Society for International Law, the European Institute, the Brookings Institute).

Another of our Global Ghanaians, Akua grew up in Germany and completed portions of her secondary and higher education in the US. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and Society, International Relations and Spanish from American University, a Law Degree from Cambridge University in England and a Masters of Laws in International and Comparative Law from the George Washington University Law School.

Where to find Akua?
On LinkedIn
IG @akuag8

*What’s Akua reading and other Sci-Fi recommendations? *
Brave New Girl by Chloe Brotheridge
What I Know for Sure by Oprha Winfrey
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin

What's all that noise in the background?
Check out GRANGER & Co in Notting Hill