Nana Awuah Darko Ampem (1932–2005) was a Ghanaian financier and chief. He was founder and first chairman of Vanguard Assurance, which remains the only insurance company in the CIMG Hall of fame and was also the Nkosuohene(progress chief) of Asante Juaben.
Awuah-Darko was the first President of the Chartered Institute of Insurance Ghana.
Nana Awuah Darko Ampem started his career as an insurance broker. In 1969 he established Marine and General Insurance Brokers after studies and working abroad. Marine and General Insurance Brokers was the first insurance brokering firm in Ghana.
In 1972, he was the first president of the Chartered Institute of Insurance Ghana. A law passed in 1972 made it obligatory for all state institutions in Ghana to deal directly with State Insurance Company and not through a broker, bringing Awuah Darko’s brokering business to a halt. Compelled by this law, Awuah-Darko started Vanguard Assurance in 1975. Vanguard Assurance is the first indigenous privately owned insurance company in Ghana.
Nana Awuah Darko Ampem was a father-figure to many Ghanaian entrepreneurs who were to later come into the insurance industry. A notable example was Kwesi Essel-Koomson of KEK Insurance Brokers, for whom Awuah-Darko suggested and encouraged an insurance career.
Awuah-Darko was the founder and Chairman of the Ghana Leasing Company Limited. In 1990 Awuah Darko was amongst the three founding directors of CAL Merchant Bank. He led the founding of City Investments Company Limited in 1995, a finance house which became Premium Bank. Awuah-Darko was a Council member of the Ghana Stock Exchange and a member of the Asanteman Finance Advisory Committee.
