Erika's Desk

"One of my aims is to help narrow the divide between African and Western cultures by promoting cultural understanding, dialogue, increased trade and investment, and strategic partnerships for mutual benefit."

Erika Amoako-Agyei is a U.S.-based writer, consultant, public speaker and marketing and sales professional.  For nearly a decade, she worked internationally with the IBM Corporation, including three years in West Africa as an American expatriate based in Ghana. As Regional Sales Manager, she managed IBM operations in Ghana and supported projects in Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Gambia, Nigeria and Cameroon. Following her career overseas, Erika returned to the United States and entered the world of academia as the Director of Corporate Relations for Thunderbird School of Global Management (a leading graduate business school ranked No. 1 in the world for international business education). Concurrently, she spent five years as an entrepreneur, running a family-owned small business – an award-winning African Art Gallery in north Phoenix. She's the author of Business and Social Etiquette in Africa: A Guide to Understanding Culture and Business Practices (forthcoming 2009). In 2003, she set up her own computer hardware and software consultancy, providing independent consulting and export services to Africa-based corporate and individual clients. Now a growing consulting practice, her company, Design Technology International, provides computer technology sales, service, and support to Africa-based businesses, schools and governments throughout the sub-Saharan region.

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to immigrant parents from Ghana, Erika spent much of her early childhood growing up in Ottawa, Canada's capital city. During grade school, her family relocated to the United States, settling in Phoenix, Arizona. There, she continued her education throughout university. While working as a college (INROADS) intern with the IBM Corporation in Phoenix, Erika studied marketing at Arizona State University, graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (’94).

Erika has been featured nationally and internationally in publications such as MONEY magazine, Western Africa magazine, ABE (Arizona’s Black Executives) magazine, Phoenix Home and Garden, The Business Journal, The New Times, The Arizona Informant and The Arizona Republic newspaper.

From her home in Arizona, she continues to write and collaborate on Africa-related business and social issues.