Shadrack Frimpong: Genius son of charcoal seller awarded Gates Cambridge Scholarship for PhD
- The Founder and CEO of Cocoa360, Shadrack Frimpong, has been awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship to pursue a PhD
- Shadrack Frimpong will be pursuing a PhD in public health and primary care at the University of Cambridge in England
- The young Ghanaian genius is among 77 recipients who have been selected globally in 2020
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The Founder and CEO of Cocoa360, Shadrack Frimpong, has been awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship to pursue a PhD in public health and primary care at the University of Cambridge in England.
Shadrack Frimpong is a University of Pennsylvania graduate and 2015 Presidents Engagement Prize winner.
The young entrepreneur is among three Ghanaians including Derrick Omari and Alimatu Bawah, who were awarded by Queen Elizabeth in 2018 following their immense contributions to social development in Ghana.
Penntoday.upenn.edu reports that Frimpong is Penn’s 31st Gates Scholar since the programme began in 2001 and among 77 recipients who have been selected globally in 2020.
READ ALSO: Brilliant student who walked for 5 years to library for homework gets accepted to 12 universities
He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in public health in global health as a Horstmann Scholar at Yale University.
At Penn, Frimpong earned his undergraduate degree in biology from the College of Arts and Sciences in 2015 and a Master’s in nonprofit leadership from the School of Social Policy & Practice in 2019, which awarded him the Richard Estes Global Citizenship Award.
A post shared by Ben Dotsei Malor, Chief Editor at UN News at the United Nations in 2019 said Frimpong is the son of a peasant farmer and charcoal seller.
Frimpong is also said to be the first person from his village, Tarkwa Breman, to attend university in the United States.
Under the mentorship of Harvey Rubin, a professor in the Perelman School of Medicine, Frimpong used the Presidents Engagement Prize to create Cocoa360.
Revenue from community cocoa farms is used to fund educational and health care services.
Frimpong’s Cocoa360 currently runs a tuition-free girls’ school and community hospital in his village for deprived girls.
The non-profit venture is sustained by proceeds from a local cocoa farm.
''Our Founder and CEO Shadrack Frimpong has been awarded a #gatescambridge Scholarship to pursue his PhD in public health and primary care at the University of Cambridge. Shadrack's research on the role of community engagement and farm revenue in eliminating some of the cost barriers to healthcare in poor regions will further deepen the impact of the work that was started with Cocoa360,'' parts of a statement on Cocoa360’s Facebook page said.
The young Ghanian genius has received national and international recognition with many awards, including the Samuel Huntington Public Service Award, Clinton Global Initiative Honor Roll, Queen Elizabeth’s Young Leader Award, and Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award.
In November 2018, Shadrack Frimpong was honoured in Forbes 30 under 30 for Social Entrepreneurship for his vision and leadership.
In a related story, Amelia Amemate, a gender activist and feminist famed as Dela Goldheart, has made history as the first Ghanaian woman to become a Gates Cambridge Scholar as a PhD candidate.
She has become a candidate for the 2020 batch of Gates Cambridge Scholars.
She chalked this feat after she was named as one of the successful candidates among 77 women and men from 30 countries across the globe. 8% of whom are PhD candidates and, among them 2 Ghanaians.
READ ALSO: Brilliant student who walked for 5 years to library for homework gets accepted to 12 universities
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Source: YEN.com.gh
