Natural Ghana Girl (More to Dela)

I Moved from Ghana to Italy then Back to Ghana Again.

In September 2022, Elle Lokko’s founder Stefania Manfreda was featured in Natural Ghana Girl’s celebrated Movement Back series, which documents the stories of diasporans and returnees shaping Ghana’s cultural landscape.

In a candid conversation, Stefania reflected on her Italo-Ghanaian upbringing, the challenges of navigating identity between Europe and West Africa, and the culture shocks of moving back to Accra after a decade in Italy. “In Ghana, I was obruni; in Italy, I was the Black kid. I learned to stop focusing on labels and simply define myself as an individual,” she shared.

What began as a small t-shirt experiment in 2008 evolved into Lokko House, and later Elle Lokko, the women-focused concept store and cultural space that has grown into a landmark of Accra’s creative renaissance. The interview traced this journey — from the spark of an idea to the building of a platform that continues to champion Ghanaian design, lifestyle, and community.

Her advice to those considering their own move back was grounded and practical: “Come with patience. Don’t expect things to fall neatly into place. Ghana is full of opportunity, but you must be flexible, creative, and willing to do things differently.”

This feature was both a look back at Stefania’s personal journey and a recognition of Elle Lokko’s role in Accra’s evolving creative ecosystem — reaffirming the store’s place not only as a destination but as a story of return, resilience, and reinvention.