Poku Osei, Founder and CEO of Babbasa – 20 March 2024

‘Pursuing purpose against all odds: the story of Babbasa’ – part of the Bristol Distinguished Address Series in collaboration with the Equity programme.

About Poku Osei

Poku is an award-winning social entrepreneur with a passion for levelling the playing field for low income and ethnic minority groups.

He is the founder and CEO of Bristol-based social enterprise Babbasa, the first black-led social enterprise to win the prestigious Queen's Award For Enterprise (Social Mobility) in 2020, awarded for transforming the lives of more than 2,200 ethnic minority young people in the UK.

He is also the co-founder of The Black Professionals Network and Founding Curator of the World Economic Forum initiative Bristol Global Shapers Hub.

As an African migrant with lived experience of race and class challenges, Poku also advocates and advises on social mobility, equal opportunity and inclusion through talks and consultancy work. He also works with strategic boards including Business West (Chambers of Commerce), University of Bristol Courts, WECA (People and Skills Board) and UWE Inclusion Advisory Board.

In 2018 the Queen honoured Poku with an invitation to Buckingham Palace for his contributions to the Commonwealth diaspora.

In 2019 he was awarded the Lord Mayor’s Medal for his service to Bristol communities and named 'Person Of The Year' at the Southwest regional MTM Awards event.

In 2021 he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and in 2023, he was awarded the prestigious Cambridge University Social Innovation Prize for his work in designing impactful programmes.

Poku holds a BSc Psychology, PGCert Real Estate and Property Management, MSc Business Management and an Advanced Project Management Certificate.