AN OXFORD-EDUCATED lawyer, a Harvard MBA graduate, a Manhattan-raised journalist, an NGO worker with a degree in international affairs and the owner of a shea butter export company are the fictional stars of a new show hailed as Africa’s answer to Sex and the City.
The YouTube series, whose second season airs early next year, aims to break down stereotypes while sparking a conversation about what it means to be young, female and African.
An African City follows the five women of Ghanaian heritage as they return home and navigate their way through high-powered careers and love lives.
Why come back? Because it feels more like home than Atlanta, London, New York or Maryland.
The transition, however, is not without its challenges for these glamorous returnees.
Makena, the lawyer, is propositioned by a potential employer at a job interview.
Marketing manager Sade has stern words for a politician who doesn’t approve of using condoms.
Journalist Nana Yaa is shocked that Accra rents can be just as expensive as Manhattan.
And she’s embarrassed when she can’t understand her ex’s new girlfriend, who speaks to her in their mother tongue.
Electricity, bureaucracy, potholes and restaurant service are among the other everyday frustrations the woman complain about as they settle back into life in the Ghanaian capital.
The show, for creator Nicole Amarteifio, is about pushing boundaries and changing the perception of what it is to be female and African.
“I just want to debunk the single story of Africa,” she tells TheJournal.ie. “That’s the overarching message.”
And while some critics have said few could relate to its characters, the show has also been welcomed by many African woman who say they’re thankful to see themselves on screen, says Amarteifio, who worked at the World Bank after studying at Georgetown University.
I get stopped in restaurants or supermarkets and other public spaces quite often. Women stop me and say, ‘Thank you! Thank for showing another side. Thank you for showing our – my – experience.’
The show, unexpectedly, has resonated with women of all ages, she adds.
One college student told me he took the show to his hometown – a rural part of Ghana – and showed it to his grandmother. Apparently, she loved it… In episode nine, when the members of parliament commented on women who “look clean” – his grandmother could relate as that is a common sentiment in her hometown.
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