Spotlight on “Wode Maya” The Star Changing the African Narrative

Starting off as Mr Ghana baby with his digital career, he is now affectionately called ‘Wode Maya’ which means My Mother in Chinese. Owing his YouTube career success to the unwavering support of his mum.

Wode Maya is a popular Ghanaian Freelance Vlogger and YouTube personality born Berthold Winkler Kobina Ackon. An Engineer by profession, Wode Maya began his YouTube journey after he relocated to China to study Aeronautical Engineering. It was during his moments in China that he capitalized on the good and stable internet to watch and comment on the videos of vloggers. He then took cues from the videos he had watched and did same after he was encouraged by a friend in 2015 while still in China.

Initially, his father did not buy the idea of an Engineer becoming a YouTuber, this stifled the relationship between them, but upon interventions of his mum, who at the same time encouraged him (Wode Maya) to carry on with his new passion, his father later conceded and encouraged him.

His father then advised him to channel his video shoots into something substantial, something educative and at the same time entertaining that will change the people’s mindset about Africa.

The annoying village boy as he sometimes calls himself, took to his father’s advice and that led him to having 10,000 subscribers on YouTube in 2017 with his first African story. He got inspired to return home after the positive feedbacks in 2018.

During his interview with The News Time Rwanda, Wode Maya mentioned taking a loan to begin an African tour. He travelled to Ethiopia as the first African country then to Rwanda where he got his breakthroughs through more viewership and subscriptions and was able to pay off his debt and to do more.

Unfortunately, he lost his father in 2017 after the life changing advice that had indeed benefited, changed and transformed the image of Africa. He honours his mum after every milestone in his YouTube journey. Notable amongst them is a mansion and a car his mum has to her name.

Today, Wode Maya is a house hold name in Africa. Through his hardwork, dedication and consistency and having vlogged over 25 countries in Africa, he now has 1.28 million subscribers on YouTube. He has inspired many in the diaspora to return and invest at home. He has, through his channel given a facelift to Africa, promoted indigenous tourism and keeps breaking the prejudice on the African continent.

Many say the spirit of Nkrumah continues to live through him when he married a Kenyan Vlogger, Miss Trudy, who is also in the crusade of changing the Africa Narrative.