For Lydia Amenyaglo, what started as a personal journey to reconnect with her Ghanaian roots became something much larger. Raised in Germany, she returned to Ghana in search of identity and belonging — a homecoming that sparked deep questions and a new purpose.

That one-way ticket back led her not just to her grandparents’ cocoa farm, but on a wider journey across the continent — one of rediscovering Africa’s abundance, making peace with her Blackness, and forging a deeper relationship with the land and its people.

Back in Ghana, standing among cocoa trees, Amenyaglo began to see things differently. The same crop that paid for her father’s journey to Germany, where he met her mother, was now at the center of a global, billion-dollar industry. And yet, the communities growing it continue to struggle.

“I am because of cocoa. My whole story begins with cocoa,” she says. So, she began to ask urgent questions: Why does so much abundance and potential still lead to so little? How can we reimagine Africa’s food systems beyond just survival? 

That was when something cracked open.

A group photo of Lydia Amenyaglo and young food entrepreneurs in Ghana. Image: Borlaji James for Global Citizen

Since then, Amenyaglo has gone from living solo on a farm and seeking support to getting involved with the Ghana Food Movement (GFH), where she’s building an ecosystem of  creatives, farmers, chefs, and culture shapers across the country. Armed with a background in branding and communications, she’s using design and storytelling to reframe Ghanaian food as valuable and visionary.

In 2021, she launched the “Buy Ghana, Build Ghana” campaign to shift mindsets around local ingredients. Through storytelling, social media, and community dinners, the campaign encouraged people to choose local ingredients and support local producers. “Buy Ghana, Build Ghana isn’t just about food,” she explains. “It’s about pride in our ingredients. It’s about rethinking what local means and building a resilient economy by valuing what we already have.”

Her work doesn’t stop there. With the Youth in Food Program and The Kitchen, Amenyaglo and her team at GFM are investing in the next generation of Ghanaian food leaders. These programs equip young people with the right skills, network, mentorship and resources to build a career in Ghana’s growing food and agribusiness sector. 

Outside of strategy sessions and storytelling work, Amenyaglo finds release and resilience in boxing. Yes, literally. “Boxing helps me push through the hard stuff,” she laughs. “It teaches me to keep going, even when it hurts.” 

So, what’s her advice for young creatives looking to walk a similar path?

“Start where you are, with what you have,” she says. “You don’t need permission to tell your story. The world needs your perspective — bold, rooted, and joyful.”

Amenyaglo is proof that transformation doesn’t always come from the top down. Sometimes it starts with an experience, an idea, and sometimes, the courage to go back to your roots.

The Global Citizen Prize, is an annual award that recognizes and celebrates the unsung activists who are positively impacting their communities and going above and beyond to tick things off the world’s most important to-do list: the United Nations’ Global Goals.