Rickie Davies (Founder/CEO)
The Translator.
Growing up in the UK, being African was not something the world made space for. Music became our anchor. It was the one piece of home that traveled with us, the way we stayed connected to where we came from and learned to be proud of exactly who we are. That pride did not just shape my childhood, it shaped my career.
I was born in Ghana, raised in the UK and have been based in the US since 2014. I have run campaigns across London, New York, Lagos and Washington, DC. I started my career in PR and communications after graduating with a degree in Journalism from the University of the Arts London. I used what I loved, music and writing, to push the culture forward and change how the world saw Africa. That is how this work began.
What followed took that instinct around the world. Burna Boy's debut US tour, booked and produced from a 2,000-capacity room, years before Citi Field. Five sold-out years of Sounds From Africa and the Caribbean at SXSW, an audience grown from 500 to 2,500. A 25-person team delivering Patoranking's headline performance at the FIFA World Cup Fan Festival. A joint venture with US label 300 Entertainment to discover and sign the next generation of African talent.
My job is to ensure that when artists, brands and institutions partner, the culture is never compromised and the business results are delivered.
I named the company AYA, the fern, a Ghanaian adinkra symbol of resilience, resourcefulness and defying the odds. It is the story of the diaspora.
The team behind the work
AYA World runs on a bench built over a decade and a half. Producers, publicists, stage and tour managers, designers and cultural strategists across Washington, New York, London, Lagos and Accra. We scale to the work.
Certified for government and institutional contracts. SAM.gov registered.
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