Indigenous platform berths to foster Africa’s design industry
In a bid to promote innovation, encourage home grown solutions and improve the quality of life for the common man through meaningful collaborative relationships across communities, Mbari Uno, a platform that educates, promotes engagement, develop sustainable solutions and establish a Sub- Saharan African design industry has launched in Lagos.
Mbari Uno, was borne out of the need to create a platform that would engender collaborations among designers, design enthusiasts, sponsors, manufacturers, industries and the general public.
Building on the pillars of design research, education and development, Mbari Uno will teach and showcase design, profile designers and chronicle design firms.
The platform will also create great design work, establish and promote the design industry as well as document the design discipline in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.
In the absence of a holistic directory for the design industry in Nigeria with little local reference or examples to benchmark its design practice, the visionaries— Chuma Anagbado and Obinali Okoli—birthed Mbari Uno which literally translates to a ‘House of Collaboration’ to share ideas and develop indigenous solutions among design aficionados, government and stakeholders.
Speaking at the launch, Chuma Anagbado, co-founder, Mbari Uno, said “Mbari Uno is set to attract design patrons, consultants and investors to help emerging designers gain access to innovative spaces, trainings, professional assistance, and any other service that will fast track them to success.”
He noted that the idea is to continually chronicle and publish the profiles of both formally and informally trained design professionals, firms, publications, events, schools, designs clusters and routinely publish insights, views, opinions, solutions, to position among others on design-based issues using the media.
“We want to conceive, design and develop frameworks that will promote the culture of probing, innovation, collaboration and sustainable engagements that seek to improve the quality of life of the common man.”
Mbari Uno is poised to become a ‘go-to hub’ for all things design, a platform that will drive visible human capital development and position Nigeria as a leading design nation in Africa as well as build an increase in the number of successful design start-ups originating from sub-Saharan Africa, he said.
“The vision of Mbari Uno is to establish a framework for the creation of design hubs across various cities in Sub-Saharan Africa, where host communities will engage in prototyping ideas and designing solutions that will benefit them.
“Mbari Uno is a community-focused centre for design research, education & solutions development. We collaborate directly with communities and get them involved in designing solutions to their peculiar problems. We’re here to network the design industry, explore design opportunities and promote the ‘Design practice’ in Sub- Saharan Africa,” he explained.
He said the platform is set up to help emerging and established designers gain access to information, professional networks, innovative spaces, educational trainings and a support structure that would enable success.
“It promises to curate and publish information about design professionals, design firms, design publications, design events, design schools and designs activity hubs,” he stated.
“Mbari Uno is a collaborative platform for the development of frameworks that will promote the culture of probing and innovation aimed at creating sustainable solutions, developing human capacity, improving the quality of life and driving economic growth,” he added.
IFEOMA OKEKE