10 October 2025 marked the launch of Ananse Center for Design in Lagos, Nigeria. The center is a new hub for fashion and design innovators, providing studios for CAD, production, photography, and more, to help creatives develop and scale their businesses.
The purpose of the hub is to serve as Africa’s first fully integrated fashion and design hub, supporting creatives with facilities and training facilities like CAD labs, sampling and production rooms, photography and content studios, and training spaces. The hub is supported and backed by the Mastercard Foundation and supported by the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism & the Creative Economy.
The hub aims to help amplify its wider goal to enable more than 5 000 emerging fashion and design-focused creatives and create access to 50 000 jobs; seventy percent of the participants will be women. This initiative will address critical gaps in the fashion industry and serve as a hub for creativity, skills development, and entrepreneurship, further driving innovation and inclusion within Nigeria’s fashion industry.
Speaking at the event, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ananse, Samuel Mensah said, “The Ananse Centre for Design Lagos is more than a space; it is a catalyst for change. By combining training, infrastructure and global market access, we are giving thousands of young creatives, especially women, the chance to turn their talent into sustainable livelihoods. This launch marks an important step in building a future where African designers can thrive locally and globally.”
