Nania Owusu-Ankomah
Practice Overview
Nania is a litigation and arbitration practitioner and a Partner at Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah, a first-tier law firm in Ghana. She regularly advises and represents clients in a range of high value litigation and arbitration disputes and is particularly noted for her innovative approach to solving complex legal issues.
She sits as an arbitrator in both domestic and international arbitrations in institutional and ad hoc proceedings. She has been appointed as sole arbitrator and co-arbitrator by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and Ghana Arbitration Centre, and is also listed on CPR’s Panels of Distinguished Neutrals and the Ghana ADR Hub List of Arbitrators.
Nania is a Court member of the LCIA and President of the LCIA African Users’ Council. She is Chair of the Ghana Chapter of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the English Commercial Bar (COMBAR) Africa Committee. Nania is also a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration & ADR and a board member of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce International Arbitration Centre. She is a lecturer in Alternative Dispute Resolution at the Ghana School of Law.
She has served as a Member of the Electronic Communications Tribunal of Ghana, quasi-judicial body that hears appeals in respect of the regulation and licensing of telecommunications companies, television and radio stations in Ghana. She was formerly Co-Chair of the Africa Arbitration Group of the IBA Arbitration Committee, after previously serving as Editor of the IBA Arbitration Committee Newsletter. She regularly serves on the faculty for training programmes in arbitration and litigation.
She is recognised by Chambers and Partners, Who's Who Legal (Lexology Index) and Legal 500 as a recommended Dispute Resolution and/or Arbitration lawyer. She was named by Lawdragon in its ‘500 Global Litigators’ list for 2023 and 2024 and was also recognised by the Africa Arbitration Academy in 2024 as a Trailblazer in International Arbitration. She has been recognized as one of Africa’s 30 Most Promising Arbitration Practitioners (2022) by the Africa Arbitration Academy as well as one of Africa’s 50 Most Promising Arbitration Practitioners (2020). She has also been featured as a ‘Woman to Watch’ by the African Institute of Women in Law and was part of the Task Force for the Commonwealth International Arbitration Study, commissioned by the Commonwealth Secretariat, which comprised leading arbitration practitioners within the Commonwealth. She regularly delivers training on various aspects of arbitration practice and also regularly speaks at conferences.
Nania is called to the bar in England and Wales and in Ghana. She has a First-Class Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Philosophy from the University of Ghana. She has an LLM and Qualifying Law Degree from the University of Leeds where she won the Ford and Warren Prize as the most Meritorious LLM Student. She pursued her Bar Vocational Course at the College of Law (now University of Law), London, passing out with an ‘Outstanding’ and was also awarded a Certificate of Honour by the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple. She is an alumna of the International Lawyers for Africa Flagship Programme through which she undertook a three-month secondment with the international arbitration practice group of an international law firm in London.
Arbitration Proceedings
- Representing an international oil exploration and production company against a sovereign in respect of two international arbitrations involving breaches of a Petroleum Agreement.
- Representing a local subsidiary of an international mining company in arbitration proceedings against a mining contractor, in respect of breaches of a mining agreement.
- Representing two foreign private equity investment funds in a shareholding dispute arising out of an investment and a shareholding agreement.
- Representing an international non-profit institution in arbitration proceedings against a construction company for breaches of a construction contract.
- Represented a mining company in arbitration proceedings relating to a contract dispute with a mining services company.
- Part of a legal team in arbitration proceedings between an international software company and a sovereign in which client was awarded the equivalent of approximately eighty-seven million dollars (at the time) in damages.
- Part of a legal team for an international energy company in arbitration proceedings and local litigation against a sovereign regarding a Power Purchase Agreement in which client was awarded the equivalent of twelve million dollars at the time in damages.
Enforcement Proceedings
- Representing an international oil exploration and production company in the enforcement of an LCIA arbitration award involving over 6 million US dollars, plus interest and costs.
- Representing an international independent drilling contractor in the enforcement of an LCIA arbitration award against an oil and gas operator, involving over seven million dollars.
- Representing a power generation company in the enforcement of an arbitration award against a sovereign arising from breaches of an power purchase agreement involving approximately one-fifty million dollars.
- Representing an international fuel supply company in the enforcement of an arbitral award against a Ghanaian energy company involving over three million dollars.
Litigation
- Representing a trade union for public sector workers in court proceedings brought against it by an association of the workers of customs excise and preventative services association.
- Successfully represented an international bank in court proceedings brought against it for an alleged breach of contract, arising out of alleged wrongful termination of a lease agreement in respect of a premium high rise commercial property involving claims for approximately five million dollars in rent and damages.
- Represented an international mining company in a labour dispute arising from alleged unlawful termination of employment.
- Part of a legal team that represented an investment management company in a dispute involving bonds issued by a sovereign nation on the New York capital markets involving in excess of two hundred million dollars.
Legal Directories
Recommended, Arbitration – Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal), 2024 & 2025
- Up & Coming, Dispute Resolution – Chambers Global, 2024
- Recommended, Dispute Resolution – The Legal 500, 2022 & 2023
- Arbitration Future Leader, Partners Category -Who’s Who Legal (WWL), 2022
“She is great at what she does.”- Dispute Resolution, Chambers Global, 2024
“Nania is very clear and gives us straightforward, relevant advice with a clear and full understanding of our needs.”- Dispute Resolution, Chambers Global, 2024
“Nania is as knowledgeable and articulate as they come. Her research skills are excellent.’ Dispute Resolution, The Legal 500, 2024
“Nania Owusu-Ankomah is very good at what she does. Her knowledge, mastery and appreciation of the law is never called to question. She has a very pleasant demeanour yet very firm and effective in making her point.” Dispute Resolution, The Legal 500, 2023
Listings as Arbitrator
- London Court of International Arbitration
- International Chamber of Commerce
- CPR’s Panels of Distinguished Neutrals.
- Ghana Arbitration Centre
- Ghana ADR Hub List of Arbitrators.
