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The GUBA Awards, or Grow, Unite, Build, Africa (GUBA) Awards, formerly known as the Ghana UK-Based Achievement Awards, are organized by GUBA Enterprise, a social enterprise dedicated to the support and advancement of Africans in the diaspora and on the continent through various socio-economic programmes and initiatives.
The awards event celebrates and rewards the excellence and innovation of African individuals and organizations working towards the advancement, empowerment, and progression of the African community in the Diaspora. [1]
The GUBA Awards initially began as an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom with the goal of recognizing the "hugely significant" contribution that British-Ghanaians made to society.
Dentaa, a Ghanaian TV personality resident in the United Kingdom, launched the awards in 2009, with the first event held in London, England, in October 2010. Dentaa, GUBA President, got the idea to create the awards because she thought that "nothing out there" encouraged and appreciated the hard work and achievements of British Ghanaians. [2]
The GUBA Awards was the first ceremony of its kind specifically to recognize Ghanaian achievement and the only awards to be endorsed by the Ghana High Commission in the UK and the British High Commission in Ghana. [3] More recently, the organizers have sought to also involve the wider African communities as they attempt to gain international attention. The GUBA Awards ceremony attracts a high calibre of African political luminaries as well as business and entrepreneurial personalities. [4]
In July 2013, the GUBA Awards received an International Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Excellence Award, beating more than 100 nominees from the UK corporate sector. [5]
Categories in the GUBA Awards are divided into sections that represent the Ghanaian flag: Red (Business & Enterprise); Gold (Popular Culture); Green (Community) and Black Star (Recognition Awards). [6]
Hundreds of recommendations for nominees are received annually. A vetting process is in place along with a clear criterion that each candidate has to satisfy prior to being accepted as a nominee. Only the activities of the candidates in the 12 months leading up to the awards are considered, so that everyone stands a fair chance. [2]
A panel of judges comprising prominent members of the Ghanaian community is responsible for compiling the final shortlist of nominees. In both the 2010 and 2011 GUBA Awards there were three judges: Charles Thompson MBE (CEO of the Screen Nation Awards), singer Rhian Benson and solicitor Maame Biama Asante. [7] For the 2012 awards there were four judges: Charles Thompson, Mavis Amankwah (managing director of communications firm Rich Visions), Freddy Annan (CEO for BASE Management Group) and Sandra Teichman (a director in the London arm of US law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman). [8]
For the GUBA Awards 2013, the categories were: Business of the Year; IIA Sustainability Award; Efie Ne Fie Award; Young Entrepreneur of the Year; Rising Star of the Year; Fashion Fusion Designer of the Year; Music Act of the Year; Ghanaian Association of the Year; Inspirational Personality of the Year; Unsung Hero of the Year; and Charity of The Year.
With the exception of the Recognition Awards category, the winners in each section are decided by public vote [2] and announced at the awards ceremony.
2019 marked a monumental moment for the GUBA Awards, with the awards being held for the first time in the United States. The awards were held in New York alongside the 74th UN General Assembly, which saw a change in direction of the awards' scope.
The 2019 United States edition of the GUBA Awards was held under the theme "African Diaspora, the Catalyst for Growth and Innovation". [9] [10]
In 2021, the awards were held in Ghana for the first time since its inception to celebrate the centenary of the death of Ghanaian historical warrior and hero Nana Yaa Asantewaa. [11]
The 2023 award ceremony was held at London's Grosvenor House Hotel in November. [12] [13]
The 2010 launch ceremony took place in London at the Ghana High Commission. [14] [15]
The 2011 awards ceremony was held at the Ghana High Commission in London, with the winners being: [16]
The 2012 awards ceremony was held at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel in central London. [3]
Red – Business & Enterprise
Gold – Popular Culture
Green – Community
Black – Recognition Awards
The 2013 award ceremony took place at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel in London. [17]
Business & Enterprise
Entertainment & Arts
Community
Special Achievement Awards
The 2015 awards ceremony took place at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, Edgware Road, London, on 4 July. [4]
Black Star Awards
Voting Awards 2015
The 2017 awards ceremony was held at the Intercontinental Hotel in London. [18]
The GUBA Black Star Awardees
Black Star Awardees 2018
The 2021 GUBA Excellence Awards event was dedicated to celebrating a century of the transition of Yaa Asantewaa, Queen Mother of Ejisu, who led the Asante army to fight the British in 1900. The theme was "Celebrating a Symbol of Courage and Resilience", and the awards recognised all African women in the past century. [19]
Yaa Asantewaa I was the Queen Mother of Ejisu in the Ashanti Empire, now part of modern-day Ghana. She was appointed by her brother Nana Akwasi Afrane Okese, the Edwesuhene, or ruler, of Edwesu. In 1900, she led the Ashanti war also known as the War of the Golden Stool, or the Yaa Asantewaa War of Independence, against the British Empire.
Felicity Ama Agyemang, also known as Nana Ama McBrown, is a Ghanaian actress, TV show hostess, and music composer. She rose to prominence for her role in a television series titled Tentacles. Later, she found mainstream success following her role in the Twi-language movies " Asoreba" and "Kumasi Yonko". She was the host, of the television cooking show McBrown Kitchen and an entertainment talk show United Showbiz on UTV until March 2023 when she moved to Media General. She is a TV show hostess on Onua TV for the Onua Showtime program. Royal drinks has chosen Nana Ama as the face of their brand
Akosua Dentaa Amoateng MBE, best known by her stage name Dentaa, is a British Ghanaian entrepreneur, actress, TV presenter, singer, producer and manager. She was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours and in 2017 she received the Ghana Peace Awards Humanitarian Service Laureate in Accra, Ghana. In mid-September 2020, she was appointed by Asante Kotoko S.C. as their International Relations Manager.
An African City is a television and a web series, which was created as a Ghanaian equivalent of Sex and the City for YouTube. The first episode of the webseries debuted on March 2, 2014. The second season debuted on January 24, 2016. The series follows the lives of five single young women of African descent who have recently resettled in Accra, Ghana, after living abroad for most of their lives. The series also displays how each woman balance being a successful college-educated woman with their personal lives as well as their new life as "returnees" in Ghana. Each episode is told in first-person narrative through the main character NanaYaa and touches on a wide array of subjects from power outages or skin whitening to condom use, self-gratification and sexual abstinence before marriage.
The 2010 Ghana Movie Awards was the maiden edition of the ceremony to reward cinematic achievement in Ghana Film Industry. The event was held at the Golden Tulip Hotel, Accra on 25 December 2010. Sinking Sands, Juliet Ibrahim, Nadia Buari, Yvonne Okoro, Majid Michel, John Dumelo & Genevieve Nnaji were among the winners.
Chris Attoh is a Ghanaian actor, film director, on-air personality, television presenter and producer. He is best known as "Kwame Mensah" in Nigerian soap opera Tinsel.
Juliet Yaa Asantewa Asante is a Ghanaian film actress, producer and director, and philanthropist. She is currently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Film Authority (NFA). Her latest film, Silver Rain, was nominated for "Best Film in West Africa" and "Best costume" for 2015 in the Africa Magic viewer's choice awards (AMVCA) and also 2015 "Best Overall Film In Africa". In 1999, Asante started the production house Eagle House Productions. That same year she also started "Save Our Women International", a non-profit entity focusing on female sexual education and launched an innovation that makes short movies for the mobile phone in Africa in 2014 called Mobile Flicks. She is also the Founder and executive director of Black Star International Film Festival. Eagle Productions has helped train some actors and actresses in Ghana through its training arm, the Eagle Drama Workshop.
Kofi Amoa-Abban is a Ghanaian Oil and Gas entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is best known as the founder and CEO of Rigworld Group, an oil services business with operations across West Africa.
Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu is a Ghanaian zoologist, environmental specialist, academic and management expert. In March 2017, she was appointed the Chair of the Board of Millennium Development Authority of Ghana. She served as a Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana until her retirement in 2011. She is a member of the New Patriotic Party of Ghana.
The Africa-Italy Excellence Awards (AIEA), formerly known as Ghana-Italy Excellence Awards, is a cultural-diversity oriented award scheme aimed at celebrating exemplary African individuals for their significant difference in the African community in Italy and other European countries. The event brings to light notable Africans that have genuinely excelled in various spheres of life, hence contributing to the advancement of Africa from the diaspora. The Africa-Italy Excellence Awards is organized and powered by Divino Friends Organization.
Nana Appiah Mensah popularly known as NAM1, is a Ghanaian business man known for the menzgold fraud. He is married to Rose Mensah, who was charged by the state as a coconspirator.
Claudia Lumor is a German born Ghanaian Publisher, and founder of Glitz Africa Magazine and the Glitz Style Awards. She is also the Executive Producer of Glitz Africa Fashion Week Ghana.
Dayan Kodua is a German actress, author and model of Ghanaian descent. In 2001, she became the first and only black woman to win a beauty contest in Germany. She has starred in a number of American and German movies and was honored ambassador for the African continent in Germany in 2005.
Ellen Boakye is a Ghanaian cardiologist for children. She is known for winning 18 awards for distinguishing herself in her course of study.
Zelda Nana Yaa Adepa Dedaa Manteaw known by the stage name DJ Zel, is a British-born Ghanaian disc jockey, singer and dancer. She is the youngest disc jockey to play on radio in the United Kingdom and she currently hosts the UniAfrik Show on GN Radio based in the UK.
Ivor Agyeman-Duah is a Ghanaian academic, economist, writer, editor and film director. He has worked in Ghana's diplomatic service and has served as an advisor on development policy.
Nana Yaa Serwaa Sarpong is a Ghanaian media personality and entrepreneur who was a programs and channels manager at Crystal TV and Multimedia Group. Currently, Nana Yaa Serwaa Sarpong is the General manager of EIB English Cluster which comprises Starr Fm, GHOne TV, and Agoo TV.
The Yaa Asantewaa Festival is an annual festival celebrated by the chiefs and people of the Ejisu Traditional Area in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is usually celebrated in the month of August.
Naa Asheley Dordor is a Ghanaian Chiropractor and Chief Executive Officer of Nova Wellness Centre, a health center that incorporates chiropractic, nutrition, exercise and massage to treat patients.
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