Award-Winning Tribalizer Adjoa Osei, Founder of the Black Star Afro Diaspora Network, Meets Black Star Album Artiste Amaarae for Diaspora Engagement Conversations in Helsinki
On August 10, 2025, following her electrifying performance at the Flow Festival in Helsinki, Finland, Ghanaian-American music star Amaarae met briefly with Adjoa Osei, the award-winning founder of the Black Star Afro Diaspora Network, for a powerful exchange focused on diaspora engagement, cultural pride, and possible future collaborations.
The meeting, which took place shortly after Amaarae’s performance, was timely. Just two days earlier, on August 8, she had released her much-anticipated third studio album, Black Star, a bold fusion of Ghanaian highlife, baile funk, techno, and club beats. The album is not only a musical evolution but also a strong cultural statement celebrating her Ghanaian roots and the strength of the African diaspora. In many ways, both Adjoa and Amaarae share the Black Star dream—a commitment to maintaining cultural identity as Afro-diasporans—which gives them a natural alignment of values and interests without any sense of obligation, simply a mutual recognition of their shared purpose.
During the encounter, Adjoa Osei presented Amaarae with a luxury Afro Brand Ghana-branded tracksuit, part of a cultural fashion line created to empower Afro-diasporans and reinforce shared identity. More than fashion, this tracksuit is a symbol of unity and purpose, and sales from the Afro Brand go directly toward funding community projects for women and children in Ghana and other African countries. The gift also sparked a wider conversation about the role of music, culture, and identity in creating sustainable development within diaspora communities.
Adjoa Osei, who has spent much of her life in the Nordic region of Europe, founded the Black Star Afro Diaspora Network with a mission to bridge the gap between Afro-diasporans and the African continent. With a Master’s degree in Development and International Relations from a prestigious university in Copenhagen Denmark, she has built a professional career at the intersection of development, international collaboration, and cultural leadership.
She is the founder of the youth organization IYEC, where she has led and managed multiple EU-funded Erasmus+ projectsfocused on empowering Ghanaian and European youth through cultural exchange and leadership training. She has also consulted for fundraising for Plan International, consulted for the Red Cross international, and established her own firm offering strategic services to development organizations across Europe and Africa.
In recognition of her innovative work in blending culture, media, and development, Adjoa Osei was recently honored with the Media and Innovation Award at the National Youth Shakers and Conclaves Awards. The prestigious awards are backed by the World Conference of Mayors, founded by Johnny Ford, Alabama’s first African-American mayor, and the Rain Foundation, led by Ghanaian author and strategist Ralph Antwi.
The Afro Brand Ghana tracksuit, now gifted to Amaarae, is quickly becoming a recognizable emblem of cultural pride across the diaspora. It has been embraced by several prominent public figures, including:
H.E. John Dramani Mahama, Current President of Ghana
Hon. Alex Segbefia, Chief of Staff to the Vice President
Bozoma Saint John, American-Ghanaian cultural executive
Shenseea, Jamaican Grammy-winning artist
Dentaa Amoateng, founder of the GUBA Awards
Chris Attoh, international actor and advocate
Reggy Zippy, UK-based music artist
Zion Felix, influential Ghanaian blogger
Chris Attoh, in particular, played a pivotal role in launching the Black Star Afro Diaspora Network, flying in from Los Angelesto support its founding and actively championing its mission to reconnect the diaspora with the African continent through fashion, identity, and shared purpose.
Adjoa Osei brings not only experience and vision but also powerful linguistic and cultural skills that make her a natural cultural ambassador. She speaks fluent Danish, is highly proficient in Swedish and Norwegian, and has basic Finnish language ability in addition to English, allowing her to communicate and engage across the Nordic region and with Afro-diasporan communities spread across Europe. Her multicultural competence adds strength to her ability to bridge worlds, build partnerships, and promote African culture internationally.
Looking forward, Adjoa is actively calling for strategic partnerships with stakeholders, universities, and the Diaspora Affairs Unit of Ghana, to formalize collaborative frameworks that strengthen diaspora engagement through education, culture, and entrepreneurship.
As part of the Network’s expanding vision, the Black Star Afro Diaspora Network also plans to support African Americans and Afro-diasporans globally who are seeking to reconnect with their African roots. This will be achieved through the launch of the Black Star Afro Diaspora Tours—a cultural and heritage experience that promises to offer participants a lifetime opportunityto explore Ghana through authentic cultural immersion, historical reconnection, and purposeful community impact.
Reflecting on her brief meeting with Amaarae, Adjoa Osei described her as a beautiful soul, full of grace and humility, traits not always common in the global entertainment industry. She expressed gratitude to Amaarae’s team, especially Yaw Sarpong, Brianna, and Christopher, for facilitating the meeting and contributing to its success.
Now, with momentum building, Adjoa is inviting Afro-diasporans, cultural leaders, and investors to come on board and shape the next phase of this powerful initiative. The Black Star Afro Diaspora Network is committed to creating spaces for creativity, identity, and development to thrive—through music, fashion, heritage, and people.
Those interested in supporting or partnering with the movement can visit www.blackstarfashionbrand.com or email [email protected].
In Helsinki, two Ghanaian women—one a globally admired music innovator, the other a visionary cultural development leader—met not just to exchange gifts, but to spark a movement. Their interaction reflects the emerging voice of a united diaspora determined to build a future guided by culture, purpose, and one powerful Black Star.