Ghanaian entrepreneur and global health leader
Shadrack Frimpong
|
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Nationality
| Ghanaian
|
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Alma mater
| University of Cambridge
University of Pennsylvania
Yale School of Public Health
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Occupation
| Entrepreneur
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Shadrack Osei Frimpong
(born 1990 or 1991) is a Ghanaian entrepreneur and global health leader. He is the founder of Cocoa360, a nonprofit organisation in rural Ghana where villagers work on communal cocoa farms in exchange for free tuition at an all-girls school and subsidized healthcare. Frimpong has won several awards, including the
Queen's Young Leader Award
and the
Muhammad Ali
Humanitarian Award. He received an Honorary Doctorate
[1]
from
Royal Holloway, University of London
.
Early life and education
[
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]
Frimpong was born in 1990 or 1991 in Tarkwa Breman, Ghana.
[2]
[3]
His parents farmed and sold charcoal, and he grew up in a household without running water or electricity.
[4]
At age nine, he experienced a serious infection of his legs that nearly resulted in their amputation. His parents had to use their farm as collateral for a loan so that he could receive treatment at a hospital five hours away. He recalled hoping and praying during his illness that he would not lose his legs, saying, "If I can keep these legs, then I will use them and work to help other people."
[2]
After recovering from his illness, he became passionate about his education, taking his studies much more seriously.
[2]
For high school, he attended the
Opoku Ware School
in
Kumasi
, Ghana, funded in part by a scholarship from the
Ghana Cocoa Board
.
[5]
In 2015, he graduated from the
University of Pennsylvania
[3]
with a degree in biology.
[6]
He was the first person from his village to attend college in the U.S.
[7]
In 2018, he returned to University of Pennsylvania for a master's degree in
non-profit
leadership.
[5]
He also holds an Advanced MPH, Global Health from the
Yale School of Public Health
's Advanced Professional Program
[6]
and a Ph.D. in Public Health and Primary Care from the
University of Cambridge
[8]
[9]
as a Gates-Cambridge scholar.
[10]
He is pursuing a Doctor of Medicine Degree (M.D) at the
Yale School of Medicine
.
Career and Research
[
edit
]
Frimpong used the prize money from
Amy Gutmann
's President's Engagement Prize to found the nonprofit Cocoa360,
[3]
where proceeds from a community-run cocoa farm are used to provide free education to 300 students at the organization's Tarkwa Breman Girls School (as of 2023), and to subsidize healthcare at its medical clinic to over 17000 patients.
[11]
[5]
The first school to open under the program did so in 2017, and served approximately 150 students as of 2019.
[2]
As of 2019, Cocoa360 had 60 acres (0.24 km
2
) of communal land, which consists of the school campus, 10 acres of cocoa farms, and land that is uncultivated. Villagers volunteer labour on the cocoa farm in exchange for tuition-free education at the school and subsidized healthcare.
[2]
In 2019, Frimpong was appointed as an editor of the
Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics
. He co-founded the African Research Academies for Women, Inc. He also founded the organization, Students for A Healthy Africa, which provides health insurance to
AIDS orphans
in Ghana.
[12]
Frimpong's most recent work includes exploring the role of Agriculture in achieving Universal Health Coverage in Africa, a paper written with
Sten H Vermund
, Dean of the Yale School of Public Health.
[13]
He is a member of the
Royal Society of Medicine
, the
UK Faculty of Public Health
and the
American Economic Association
.
Awards and honours
[
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]
Frimpong was a recipient of the Amy Gutmann's President's Engagement Prize in 2015, where he received $150,000.
[3]
In the same year, he also received the Samuel Huntington Public Service Award,
[14]
which has had past recipients such as U.S. Surgeon General
Vivek Murthy
and MacArthur "Genius" Fellow
Angela Duckworth
.
[15]
In 2018, he received the
Queen's Young Leader Award
.
[4]
Also in 2018, he received the Boyer Scholarship, becoming the second African recipient and first ever from West Africa. The Boyer Scholarship resulted in him becoming a member of the
First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry
.
[5]
In 2018, he was named as one of
Forbes
'
s "30 under 30" social entrepreneurs for 2019.
[7]
Frimpong also graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Nonprofit Leadership Program with the Richard J. Estes Global Citizenship Award, which is awarded to a graduate of the Nonprofit Leadership Program who exhibits academic excellence, a commitment to improving the world, and dedication to social impact.
[16]
Upon enrolling in Yale University School of Public Health, Frimpong received the Horstmann Scholarship to fund his Master's in Public Health degree.
[17]
In 2019, Frimpong was also one of six recipients of the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award, which recognizes activists who work towards social change under age thirty.
[2]
He was awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship in 2020 to pursue a Ph.D. in public health and primary care at the University of Cambridge in England.
[18]
[19]
He holds an Honorary Doctorate
[20]
from
Royal Holloway, University of London
in recognition of his contribution to global health and community engagement in Africa.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Shadrack Frimpong awarded Honorary Doctorate for health and education project in Ghana"
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Cole, Diane (13 September 2019).
"A Brush With Death Propelled A 9-Year-Old To A Muhammad Ali Award"
.
NPR
. Retrieved
15 September
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Wu, Allison (20 September 2018).
"President's Engagement Prize winner Shadrack Frimpong returns to Penn for master's in nonprofit leadership"
.
The Daily Pennsylvanian
. Retrieved
15 September
2019
.
- ^
a
b
"Social Entrepreneur, SP2 Student Facilitating Healthcare & Education in Ghana"
.
Penn Social Policy & Practice
. Retrieved
15 September
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Akwei, Ismail (23 August 2018).
"From village icon to global acclaim, this promising young Ghanaian leader keeps soaring while saving lives"
.
Face 2 Face Africa
. Retrieved
15 September
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Kristoffersen, Matt (9 September 2019).
"Shadrack Frimpong SPH '20 wins Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award"
.
Yale Daily News
. Retrieved
15 September
2019
.
- ^
a
b
"Shadrack Frimpong"
.
Forbes
. Retrieved
15 September
2019
.
- ^
"Developing a farm for impact model - Gates Cambridge"
. 29 July 2020.
- ^
"Ensuring equitable recovery in a post-pandemic world"
.
- ^
"Biography | Gates Cambridge"
.
Gates Cambridge -
. 25 June 2020
. Retrieved
2 August
2023
.
- ^
Stacks, Richard (2016).
"The Effects of an NGO development project on the Rural Community of Tarkwa Bremen in Western Ghana"
(PDF)
.
Social Impact Research Experience (SIRE)
.
47
.
S2CID
157936413
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 28 February 2020.
- ^
Dokosi, Michael Eli (6 September 2019).
"From selling gum to gaining global acclaim, Ghana's Shadrack Frimpong is now editor of Yale's prestigious health and policy journal"
.
Face 2 Face Africa
. Retrieved
15 September
2019
.
- ^
Osei Frimpong S, Vermund SH. The role of agriculture in achieving Universal Health Coverage in Africa. J Glob Health. 2022 Jul 16;12:03053. doi: 10.7189/jogh.12.03053. PMID 35841623; PMCID: PMC9288254.
- ^
"School for Girls in Ghana"
(PDF)
.
Samuel Huntington Public Service Award
. Vol. 7, no. 1. 2016.
- ^
"Impact"
.
Samuel Huntington Public Service Award
. Retrieved
16 September
2019
.
- ^
"2019 Social Policy & Practice Awards"
.
Penn Social Policy & Practice
. 2019
. Retrieved
15 September
2019
.
- ^
Mayer, Denise (28 August 2019) YSPH Student and Social Entrepreneur Receives Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award
- ^
"Penn alum Shadrack Frimpong awarded Gates Cambridge Scholarship"
.
- ^
"Biography | Gates Cambridge"
. 25 June 2020.
- ^
"Shadrack Frimpong awarded Honorary Doctorate"
.
External links
[
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]