Accra is a city that takes its storytelling seriously. The debates on its radio stations, the poetry shared in its literary spaces, the conversations that unfold across its markets and institutions — these are not peripheral to the city’s economic and cultural life. They are its connective tissue. Apiorkor understands this at a depth that most media professionals do not attempt. As a poet, writer, and Head of Programmes Production at Citi FM and Citi TV, they occupy a rare position: practitioner and architect simultaneously, shaping what Ghana hears about itself while maintaining an active creative practice that keeps those curatorial instincts honest.
The role at Citi FM and Citi TV is more than a senior media position. Under Apiorkor’s programmatic direction, the stations have developed a reputation for content that respects its audience — that entertains without condescension, informs without lecturing, and centres African storytelling with the sophistication that audience consistently demonstrates it is capable of receiving. This is broadcast curation as a form of cultural entrepreneurship: the recognition that in an attention economy, the decision about what gets produced and aired is itself a creative and commercial act with real consequences for how a society narrates itself.
Their practice as a poet runs alongside the media work and quietly informs it. Poetry operates at the level of precision language — the insistence that words do not merely convey meaning but create it. This sensibility shapes how Apiorkor approaches programmatic strategy: not as the management of content slots, but as the construction of editorial voice. A station with a coherent voice has a brand. A station with a brand commands loyalty from listeners and leverage with the wider cultural conversation it participates in. Apiorkor navigates both registers simultaneously and without visible effort.
The Vision
The model they are building — creative leadership that holds artistic credibility and business competence together as reinforcing rather than opposing commitments — points toward something important about where African media is headed. The continent’s creative capital is vast and, by most measures, still undermonetised relative to its quality. The leaders who can navigate both the cultural and commercial dimensions of that landscape will determine what African storytelling looks and sounds like to a global audience. Apiorkor is already doing this work, daily, at one of Ghana’s most listened-to media institutions. The rest of the industry is beginning to pay attention.
The Business
Citi FM and Citi TV represent more than broadcasting platforms; they are curated spaces where creative excellence meets audience ambition. Under Apiorkor’s programmatic direction, the stations have become known for content that entertains without condescending, that educates without preaching, and that centers African storytelling with the sophistication it deserves. This is media production as a form of cultural entrepreneurship—recognizing that in the attention economy, quality curation is a scarce and valuable commodity.
Beyond the broadcasting role, Apiorkor has developed a parallel practice as a speaker and thought leader in the creative industries space. The Brunch & Learn events have become gatherings where creative entrepreneurs and culture-makers access both practical knowledge and permission to dream bigger. This is the infrastructure of ecosystem-building—recognizing that individual success means little without a thriving community of peers and emerging talent to learn from.
Where to find them: by people who refuse is the brand behind this feature.
