I figure if you’re on this page, you deserve more than a cursory introduction, so here we go.

I’m Emmanuel Quartey, and I’m Head of Growth at Paystack, which powers growth and payments for some of the most ambitious businesses operating in Africa. Every day, I get to advocate on behalf of creators with some of my best friends. I feel really, really lucky.

I believe that writing well is easily the most important, most powerful skill anyone can have.

I believe that everything good is a team sport.

I believe that a lot of pain in the world comes from a lack of imagination (the inability - or refusal - to imagine better), and that anything that increases the ability for people to dream more, and dare more, is an unalloyed good.

At my best, I help small teams of great people imagine better, and become more formidable.

I was born and raised in Tema, which is a coastal town in Ghana, and since then I’ve had the opportunity to travel to a number of places. I don’t think I’ll ever shake off the sense of wonder at seeing just how wonderfully vast and shockingly small the world is.

I studied Architecture at Yale University with a concentration in Urban Studies, after which I spent a few years working - at SeeClickFix, at the Yale Office of Public Affairs & Communications, and at Laboratorio Para La Ciudad, Mexico City’s official think tank for urban creativity - during which I thought a lot about what kind of person I want to be, and what cause I want to give myself to. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

I have little patience for people who try to make others feel small for getting excited or caring about things, and I’m saddened by the knowledge that I’ll run out of time before I make complete sense of anything.

The great joys in my life include my brothers Alfred (an artist), David (a data scientist), and my mother Mawusi (a superhero). Other joys include speculative fiction, comic books, music, large cities, numerous animals (especially ducks), and zoomed in photos of poofy cat feet.

I’m making it up as I go, and my only constant is the desire is to build something enduring with a team of talented people who aren’t afraid to be curious and kind.

(If you enjoy my writing and want to support my independent research projects, the best way is to buy me a book!)