A Walthamstow woman has been named one of Europe’s most important African women.

Dentaa Amoateng, who moved to the UK from Ghana as a five-year-old, beat stiff competition to win the prestigious African Women in Europe (AWE) award.

Ms Amoateng, 30, of Hoe Street, manages former Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan and is the founder of the Ghana UK Based Achievement Awards (GUBA), which recognises Ghanaians’ success in Britain.

The former Walthamstow School for Girls and Leyton Sixth Form College pupil was also praised for her charity work, which includes founding the GUBA Foundation and working with the Ghanaian and British community to integrate them.

She trained as a nurse but soon became an actress and gospel singer and then made her own path as a TV presenter of popular Ghanaian programmes such as The Dentaa Show and the West African country's answer to The X Factor — music talent show “Mentor”.

Despite her busy lifestyle she still manages to work as a paediatric nurse as well as manage Gyan.

The mother-of-three said: “I am honoured, humbled and delighted in equal measures to win the prestigious African Women in Europe Award 2013.

“Since their formation in 2011, the AWEs have helped empower African women living in Europe and significantly raised awareness of the vast contribution they make both to their native and adopted homelands.

“The awards reflect a positive image of African women as intelligent, hard-working, multi-tasking, ambitious and socially-aware, and I am proud to live up to those ideals and serve as a role model for African women everywhere.”

An AWE awards spokesperson said: “As this year's AWE award winner, Dentaa stands out as an icon and role model to all African women living and working in Europe.

“She has already achieved so much in the worlds of entertainment, sport, business and social change, while also being a devoted wife and mother, and as such is a credit to Ghana and inspirational ambassador for the whole of Africa.”