GG Asante

Kofi Asante designs kente-inspired fabric for an Accra textile house, translating strip-woven patterns into collections that ship abroad, while his grandmother, a master weaver, checks every design and approves roughly half. His looms run on deadlines that do not move, and he treats the board the same way: step away mid-match to take a call or refill a drink, and he will not sit across from that person again. Backgammon started in the factory break room and stayed with him ever since. He plays with the same brisk, unbending rhythm he keeps on the production floor, setting one move after another without pause, and a match with him rarely runs long, because for Kofi a stall in the pattern is worse than a loss.