Like other children, Adja Mariam Mahre Soro (Adja Soror) grew up glued to her television. But there was always something missing from those colourful cartoons that told tales of adventure, friendship, and bravery. None of the characters looked like her. Their hair didn’t curl like hers, their skin didn’t look like hers, and their lives were certainly different from the African culture she lived in every day.
Years later, she experienced that unsettling feeling again when her daughter, eyes glued to the screen, turned to her and said, “I want to look like her.” The reference was not to a character representing African heritage or beauty but rather a Western cartoon figure that defined beauty in a single, narrow way. That moment struck Soro deeply; she knew she had to act. Thus began her mission to create a space where African kids could see themselves as the heroes of their own stories.
Adja Soro currently leads Voyelles Éditions and Studio KÄ, two animation production companies based in Côte d’Ivoire. She is dedicated to celebrating African culture, heritage, and beauty through animation, literature, and games.
Adja Soro’s inspiration
Adja Soro didn’t always dream of creating cartoon characters. She began her career as an accountant in Côte d’Ivoire, working for the microfinance group Advans for three years. However, she felt this path wasn’t right for her, as she had a deep-seated passion for sharing African culture with the world.
In 2015, Adja took a leap of faith and founded Voyelles Éditions, a publishing house dedicated to introducing children to the beauty of Africa’s heritage through books distributed to schools and libraries throughout Côte d’Ivoire.
In 2017, Soro was selected for the Mandela Washington Fellowship, where 1,000 young African leaders gathered in the United States to exchange ideas and learn from one another. Being in that space made her realise how connected Africans and Afro-descendants globally are, and she wanted to nurture that connection even more.
Moreover, watching her daughter idolise characters who bore no resemblance to her was a wake-up call. She didn’t see it as mere entertainment because it affected how African children viewed their place in the world. Soro noticed how much children loved cartoons and realised she could use animation to tell these powerful stories. She wanted African children to see themselves as bold and beautiful in the stories they watch on TV, and that vision gave birth to Studio KÄ in 2019.
Studio KÄ is an independent animation studio dedicated to teaching Africans and Afro-descendants worldwide to embrace their heritage. They use characters with distinct African features to tell relatable stories that authentically represent African identity in cartoons. Studio KÄ creates educational content, provides custom-tailored animation services for advertising and storytelling, and develops powerful visual narratives. Through these efforts, they are transforming how the world perceives Africa and how Africa views itself.
In 2020, Adja Soro was honoured with the Women in Africa (WIA) Education Award and became a top 20 finalist for the African Business Hero award in 2021. Thanks to initiatives like hers, African stories are being shared on screens.
