Elikem Nutifafa Kuenyehia
FATHER, LAWYER, PROFESSOR, AUTHOR, DREAMER
“WHAT REALLY GIVES ME HOPE IN AFRICA AND ITS FUTURE IS ORDINARY AFRICANS CHASING THEIR DREAMS. I SHOULD KNOW… I AM AFRICAN AND I HAVE BEEN A DREAMER ALL MY LIFE”
Introduction
Hello there, I’m Elikem Nutifafa Kuenyehia. Everyone calls me by my initials—ENK. You should too.
I’m proudly African, born in Accra, Ghana and raised by the world.
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I’m a dreamer. I’ve been a dreamer all my life. I’m lucky to have parents who, in my formative years, gave me freedom to be myself and to dream.
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I still dream, dreams of all kinds: Some small, many childlike, others bold and brash. And I’ve had the audacity to make some of my dreams become reality.
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Other dreams are a work-in-progress, currently in my “dream drawer”, which I may or may not act upon in future.
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I’m perhaps best known and acknowledged as a transactional lawyer advising on foreign direct investments into Africa.
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But, as you’ll find out here, I’m a lot more than that. A classic multipotentialite, I wear multiple hats and juggle many interests in pursuit of a wide range of passions, with varying degrees of success.
About Me
LAW
After studying jurisprudence at the University of Oxford (Worcester College) and taking the legal practice course at the University of Law (then College of Law), I qualified as a banking lawyer and worked in the City of London, first for Travers Smith LLP and then for Linklaters LLP.
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I’ve had (and continue to have) the privilege of advising some of the world’s most elite corporates and banks in areas of corporate and commercial law, corporate governance, banking, finance, and oil and gas law.
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Along the way, I’ve been ranked a leading lawyer by directories that rank international law firms globally such as Chambers & Partners, Legal 500, and International Financial Law Review (ILFR).
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Legal500 has included me in its Hall of Fame as one of only three Ghanaian lawyers and the only one of my generation “considered to be at the pinnacle of the legal profession, based on consistent feedback from clients”.
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In 2006, with the equivalent of $5,000, I founded Oxford & Beaumont Solicitors which we subsequently merged with ENSafrica to create ENSafrica|Ghana.
I exited ENSafrica in November 2020 and after investing in ‘New Generation Law Firm’ Keystone Solicitors, I joined that firm in January 2022 as Chairman.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Amongst others, I have founded or co-founded a law firm, a consumer insights and customer experience brand agency, a venture capital firm focused on MSMEs (micro, small and medium-sized enterprises), a family office, a management consultancy, a culinary business, a real estate brokerage, a niche hospitality venture and two not for profits.
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In my teenage years, I co-founded Filla! Magazine and Second Generation magazine and a television show.
BOARDS
I have a keen interest in corporate governance with over 15 years of boardroom experience, both as a director and company secretary.
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I am currently serving a second term on the governing board of State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) as a nominee of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana. SIGA is a body responsible for the proper management and governance of over 112 entities the Government of Ghana has an interest in.
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I am also on the boards of Access Bank Ghana Plc, Goldkey Properties Limited, Sentinel Asset Management, and Mindfull Creative Agency and an Ambassador for Invest in Africa, a non-profit organization with the vision to create prospering African economies. My previous directorships include Google Ghana Ltd, Hollard Insurance, and Chase Petroleum.
ART
I’m drawn to nature and beautiful things so it’s no surprise I love art.
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Beyond the aesthetics, art provides me inspiration as well as balance in my life. A bit like what I imagined Pablo Picasso meant when he said “art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life”.
Through Kuenyehia Trust for Contemporary Art and Kuenyehia Prize for Contemporary Art, I seek to launch or further develop the careers of the most talented African artists between 18 and 40 and to encourage them to pursue careers in art.
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WRITING
I like to tell stories of all kinds, particularly about entrepreneurs building and leading businesses in Africa.
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Conscious of the role stories play in inspiring people to become entrepreneurs, my column “Celebrating Entrepreneurship” in Graphic Business is dedicated to writing about various African entrepreneurs, at different stages of their entrepreneurial journeys.
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My book, Kuenyehia on Entrepreneurship, is part textbook and part reference book for enthusiasts of entrepreneurship. Key to its uniqueness is a wide-ranging collection of profiles of successful Ghanaian entrepreneurs as well as sections on particular challenges for prospective investors in Ghana.
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I am currently writing my next book; “Champagne Dreams, Beer Budget: insights from bootstrapping and scaling an awesome African institution”. Drawing on the first-hand experiences of my team and I in starting and scaling our law firm, it is both a real-life case study and a ‘how to’ book for anyone looking to start and scale up a professional service firm on a shoe-string budget.
TEACHING AND THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
‘If you can read this, thank a teacher '. – Harry S. Truman
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Two of my grandparents retired as headteachers, after lifelong careers teaching in schools across Ghana. My mother, a professor of law is a globally acclaimed scholar who in the 1990s was Dean of the University Of Ghana, School Of Law.
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With teaching in my genes, it’s perhaps no surprise I consider teaching my life mission
I’m currently a Professor of Practice at the University of Buckingham’s School of Business, Humanities, and Social Science. My research and teaching focus on Entrepreneurship and Leading Professional service firms, both in an African context; and Board Leadership and Corporate Governance.
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I was an adjunct lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) for ten years, where I taught undergraduate, graduate, and executive education classes.
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I have also been Executive-in-Residence at the University of Ghana Business School
