Ghana: Nana Akua Akumfi Ameah Oppong-Birmeh

Born in 1982 in Accra, Ghana, Nana Akua Akumfi Ameah Oppong-Birmeh is the founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Principal Architect of Arch Xenus, a majority women and women-led architecture firm in Accra, Ghana. She studied visual and communicative art while earning her secondary education at Holy Child in Cape Coast, Ghana (2000); she also completed the Stanford Seed Business Transformation Program at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business (2024), received a postgraduate degree from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana, and is a member of the Architects Registration Council (ARC).

Nana Akua Akumfi Ameah Oppong-Birmeh served as a council member of the Ghana Institute of Architects (GIA, 2018–2022), and on the Board of Ghana’s Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA). She was included on the “List of 50 Influential African Women Architects”  by African Column (2024), included on the list of “50 Influential African Architects” by Building and Décor (2024), received an award by the African Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship (AWIEF) in the Creative Industry category (2018), received recognition on the “BBC 100 Women” list comprised of influential and innovative women breaking glass ceilings (2017), and won the Architecture, Design, and Décor category of “Forty Under 40 Awards” issued by Xodus Communications Limited (2017).