Dankwah was born in Ghana and moved to Canada in 2010 when he was 9-years-old. By the time he got to high school, he started playing football, and the sport took him from Ontario to California, back to Canada, and then to Taft School in Connecticut for his last year of high school. He was not heavily recruited but was offered a scholarship to Howard and he committed to the Bison.
In 2019, Dankwah played sparingly in 8 games for Howard at right tackle. The 2020 season was canceled due to Covid-19, but he had a solid 2021 season at right tackle and was named to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Second-Team. Dankwah continued his ascension in 2022 and was named an All-MEAC First Team selection, starting 11 games at right tackle and helping Howard earn a share of the MEAC regular season championship, its first since 1993. The 2023 season saw more of the same from Dankwah. He started all 12 games and was once again named an All-MEAC First Team selection. After the season, he decided to forego the rest of his eligibility and enter the NFL Draft.