| Patrick Awuah Jr. | |
| Birth Date: | 1965 |
| Alma Mater: | Achimota School UC Berkeley, Swarthmore College |
| Known For: | Ashesi University |
| Awards: | John P. McNulty Prize MacArthur Fellowship |
| Nationality: | Ghana |
| Spouse: | Rebecca Awuah |
Patrick Awuah Jr. (born 1965) is a Ghanaian engineer, educator, and entrepreneur. Awuah established Ashesi University, a private, not-for-profit Ghanaian institution in 2002. He has received awards[1] as an individual and as the founder of Ashesi.[2]
Awuah grew up in Accra, Ghana. He attended the Achimota School[3] [4] where he was a house prefect.
He moved to the U.S. in 1985 to attend Swarthmore College with a full scholarship. He earned bachelor's degrees in Engineering and Economics, graduating in 1989. Following graduation, Awuah worked as a software engineer and program manager for Microsoft from 1989 to 1997. At Microsoft, he met his future wife, Rebecca, a software testing engineer.[5]
In 1997, Awuah left Microsoft with the goal of returning to Ghana to educate the next generation of African leaders.[6] [7] He enrolled at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, focusing his work on preparing a business plan for Ashesi. Awuah, Nina Marini, and other graduate students from Berkeley went to Ghana to do a feasibility study for opening a private university there. Awuah graduated with his MBA in 1999. That same year, he moved back to Ghana with his family to found Ashesi University.[8] [9] [10] Awuah continues to serve as the president of Ashesi University.[11]
John Kufuor presented Awuah the Order of the Volta Award to recognise his contribution to tertiary education in Ghana in 2007.[12] In 2009, Awuah won the John P. McNulty Prize.[13] In 2010, Awuah was awarded 87th most creative business person by Fast Company.[14] In 2014, he received The Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award, which honours UC Berkeley alumni with distinguished records of service to their native country.[15] In the same year he was named best social entrepreneur by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.[16] In 2015, Awuah was listed by Fortune as number 40 in world's 50 greatest leaders[17] and was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.[18] In 2017, Awuah was awarded the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) prize, a major global education award.[19]