Photo Credit Ben Adu

Franka-Maria Andoh was born in Accra on the 17h of April  1968.  She started writing Christmas plays with her dad’s old typewriter aged 8 and took a long break from writing until 2004 when she was selected to be a part of the Crossing Borders Programme organised by the British Council.  Franka took off from then and has under her belt several children books, Koku the Cockerel, Dokono the Donkey, Yum Yum the Bully Boy, The Kente Curtain, The Kente Dress, Kumasi to London and Dear Kweku.

With a grant from the Danish Cultural Fund, Franka self-published a collection of short stories, I Have Time and Other Short Stories.  This won the Ghana Association of Writers (GAW) – Ama Ata Aidoo Short Story Award.  She also published a collection of essays celebrating ten years in the café business titled Still Passionate About Coffee.  Her short story Mansa was featured in the Caine African Writers anthology and translated into Spanish.  In 2021, her touching short story Twin Butterflies was accepted into the ‘Lockdown’ Anthology.  Franka won a national award for her handbook for young girls titled Having a Period, Not a Little Girl Anymore.  Her gift of creative non-fiction saw her co-author the book Sam with esteemed Member of the Council of State and lawyer Mr Sam Okudzeto.

Her boutique publishing house Lemontree Publishing birthed its first book by Franka-Maria entitled Under the Light which was launched during the 25th anniversary of her café Josie’s Cuppa Cappuccino listed in 2015 by Ventures Africa as one of the leading cafés in Africa. Cuppa Cappuccino is finding a beautiful role in ministry by hosting events for women to encounter Christ in the space.  The business hosts God’s Women in Waiting, Ghana Chapter and also recently the Ubantu Tea Club which allows women to find wellness and healing in conversation over a cup of tea. Her core business is as a restaurateur and most recently she has added Gratitude Rooms and Tours, Cape Coast to her business bouquet.

In 2017, Franka co-founded the Antique Lemonade Art Space for creatives to network and embark on collaborative creative projects.  Antique Lemonade was able to in its first year, hold the first ever African art exhibition in Tblisi, Georgia.   The space has produced two documentaries and podcasts including her ‘Three Lemons’ podcast for creatives and ‘Girl Jonah’ which she uses to share God inspired messages.  The Art Space has been incorporated into the Antique Lemonade Arts Foundation.  She also has a foundation Most Def Foundation for deaf youth, in collaborating with other organisations to organise summer camps to expose them to a range of skills.

Due to the COVID 19 pandemic the art space which hosted numerous exhibitions and events was temporarily shut down but has been revived with its beautiful new concept store The Antique Lemonade Concept Store which carries carefully curated handmade products from Ghana.  Franka-Maria Andoh leads the God’s Women in Waiting Kingdom Business Forum.