40 Under Forty 2020: Emmanuel Larbi
Photo | Matthew Wright
Emmanuel Larbi
- Title: Co-founder & CEO
- Company: Accra Girls Inc. & akra LLC in Worcester
- Residence: Worcester
- Birthplace: Ghana
- College: Assumption University
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Running a successful restaurant would seem to be enough to keep anybody busy. Emmanuel Larbi, however, apparently still has time and energy to spare. Larbi, who was 7 when his family immigrated from Ghana to Worcester in 2002, opened Accra Girls, a Ghanian restaurant, in 2017, reaching more than 250,000 patrons in its first two full years.
This year, he added a smaller second location at the Worcester Public Market, giving one of the city’s largest immigrant groups a thriving business to be proud of – and share a part of its way of life. When he’s not at either restaurant, Larbi, an Assumption University biology graduate, is enrolled in Harvard University’s business analytics program, shifting career trajectories from his previous work as a cancer researcher at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. During the coronavirus pandemic, he helped feed frontline workers in Worcester and Boston. He shares his knowhow through Worcester State University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs in helping to create entrepreneurial opportunities for youth and people of color. He’s on the founding committee for EforAll Greater Worcester, an effort working to bring to the area a branch of the nonprofit working to improve economic opportunities in underserved communities through entrepreneurship.
Who would play you in the movie about your life? Will Smith
What is your favorite activity since the coronavirus pandemic began? Zoom parties
What are you proudest of? I’m most proud of my mom and siblings. Everything I’ve accomplished to date is a result of them, and every dream I want to accomplish is impossible without them.
What will the inscription say on the statue they eventually build of you? Life’s in the details. Look closely enough and you’ll see I’m not dead, but rather, I’m living in everyone I’ve influenced or impacted.
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