Naa Shika Adu

Working in Sport, Education & Creativity

Hi, I’m Naa Shika Adu. I believe sport is Africa’s most underused infrastructure for human potential. As a former international tennis player, ITF-certified coach, author of PlayTEd and founder of the African Sports Alliance, I’ve spent nearly a decade proving that play can be purposeful, learning can be joyful, and talent can be systematically grown, especially for girls and marginalized youth.

Naa Shika Adu  Head shot

"Most people meet sport as a game and art as expression.
I meet them as access points.
Access to confidence.
Access to skills.
Access to identity.
Access to systems that actually work.

Over the past decade, my work has reached 4,000+ young people across schools, streets, and community spaces in Ghana.

More than 350 youth have moved through structured leadership and development pathways, and 65% of the girls hold leadership roles in their community service, schools or securing sports or academic schorlarships. These outcomes didn’t happen by accident.

I’ve learned that sport and creativity don’t create value just by existing; they create value when they are designed intentionally, connected to people who can invest, and translated into pathways that last.

That’s the work I do..."
Naa Shika Adu head shot

"Most people meet sport as a game and art as expression.
I meet them as access points.
Access to confidence.
Access to skills.
Access to identity.
Access to systems that actually work.

Nearly 3 decades, my experience as an ITF & National Tennis Professional competing across Africa and Europe inspired a broader vision for youth development, leading me to design programs that have reached 4,000+ young people across schools, and community spaces in Ghana.

More than 350 youth have moved through structured leadership and development pathways, and 65% girls hold leadership roles in their community service, schools or securing sports or academic schorlarships.

What began as ACE Tennis Academy and Africa Tennis Connect has grown into African Sports Alliance, a continental organisation uniting sport, culture, and youth development across Africa.”

I’ve learned that sport and creativity don’t create value just by existing; they create value when they are designed intentionally, connected to people who can invest, and translated into pathways that last.

That’s the work I do..."

Executive Director | African Sports Alliance

VOP logo

Culture as Language

A curated art and social initiative that uses sport as a language for cultural storytelling, identity, and transformation. Storytelling as way communities make meaning and value.

Naa Shika - French Embassy Women in sports

Book: Education Through Culture

A revolutionary education curriculum using neuroscience to support cognitive, emotional, motor skils and social development.

African Sports Alliance (ASA)- Youth, gender equity & Workforce Development

I use the power of sports and play to build a better future for Africa’s youth by turning games into classrooms, passion into profession, and play into enterprise.

Naa Shika at Lincoln Community School
Naa Shika - French Embassy Women in sports, Alliance Francaise

African-Led Systems

Building the Inclusive Future of Sport
We design strategies and launch ventures that transform passion into prosperity for everyone.

Venture Design: Creating platforms that turn cultural energy into opportunity.

Consulting & Advisory: Equipping organizations with the frameworks, training, and systems to operationalize inclusion.

Systems Thinking: Integrating disparate programs into sustainable, measurable frameworks.

Who I collaborate with

I work with partners, communities, and organizations of all kinds, united by one goal: turning energy and creativity into economic and social impact that lasts.

Global & Diaspora Markets
Cultural & Educational Institutions
Brands & Sports Clubs
International Development & Foundations

Sport taught me discipline.
Culture taught me language.
Youth taught me urgency.
Now, I bring those worlds together carefully, creatively, and with purpose.

Naa Shika Adu playing tennis at The backyard in Osu, Accra

Want to get in touch?

I welcome conversations with partners and institutions interested in youth development, culture, and systemic change.

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