Founded by Roberta Annan, UNEP Goodwill Ambassador for the Creative Economy and internationally recognised business leader, the African Fashion Foundation operates at the intersection of culture, business, and global opportunity. Via strategic partnerships and long-term investment in talent, AFF continues to play an important role in developing Africa’s creative and fashion industries.

Over the years, AFF has built a measurable and valuable impact:

Behind these figures stands a devoted team and an influential international advisory network.

Program Director Elisabeth Morzadec, a graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London with a Master’s degree in African Development, leads key initiatives including the African Fashion Futures Incubator and the Fashion Industry Retreat. With French and Ghanaian heritage and extensive experience across West Africa’s cultural industries, she brings both academic depth and hands-on insight to AFF’s programming.

On the digital front, Julius Quansah Yankson, Digital Strategist at AFF, leads the foundation’s online presence and community-building efforts, ensuring African talent connects with a worldwide audience.
AFF’s international board further strengthens its reach, including Lupo Lanzara (Deputy Chairman, Accademia Costume & Moda, Italy), Waridi Schrobsdorff (Berlin-based fashion entrepreneur and advocate for African talent), Adenike Adebayo-Makinde (Nigerian lawyer and business leader), and Sara Sozzani Maino (Deputy Director of Vogue Italia and Head of Vogue Talents), widely recognised for supporting emerging designers worldwide.

The work of the African Fashion Foundation is structured around three pillars: Convene, Collaborate, and Cultivate. Through these pillars, AFF brings together key industry leaders, encourages cross-sector dialogue, activates lasting ecosystems, honours Africa’s cultural heritage, and supports innovation.
As an official sponsor of the AIDA Awards, AFF contributes more than visibility. The partnership connects two platforms that believe recognition must be accompanied by infrastructure – while awards elevate talent, foundations create long-term pathways.

AIDA Awards, established to become the most comprehensive international design competition dedicated to Africa and its diaspora, provide a continental and global platform for designers working on projects covering spatial, product, communication, and fashion-related disciplines. Through this partnership, designers supported by AFF gain expanded visibility across multiple design sectors, while AIDA Awards strengthen its devotion to sustainable ecosystem development.

Beyond sponsorship, the African Fashion Foundation contributes to the growth of Africa’s creative infrastructure through a portfolio of initiatives and projects:

Together, these initiatives share a common goal: supporting systemic growth rather than short-term exposure.

For AIDA Awards, this partnership symbolizes an intentional expansion of its mission: to proactively support the future of the African creative economy. While recognition is essential, infrastructure, mentorship, and investment pathways truly help creatives’ careers grow and transform.

Founded in 2021 by Bernice Asein, the Fashion Law Institute Africa is an independent initiative dedicated to advancing research, education, and policy development at the intersection of law, fashion, and the creative industries across the African continent. Through its work, the institute focuses on strengthening legal awareness and supporting designers, businesses, and stakeholders in navigating the evolving legal frameworks shaping Africa’s fashion and design sectors.

As an independent initiative focused on the African continent, the institute promotes legal awareness and knowledge-sharing around intellectual property, policy development, and the legal frameworks shaping the fashion and design industries. Through research, educational initiatives, and industry dialogue, the Fashion Law Institute Africa works to support designers, businesses, and stakeholders in navigating the legal dimensions of Africa’s growing creative economy.

The collaboration between the Fashion Law Institute and the AIDA Awards reflects a shared belief that creative excellence must be supported by strong professional frameworks. While awards celebrate talent and innovation, legal literacy and access to professional expertise are essential for designers seeking to protect their work and build sustainable creative businesses.

Across Africa and its diaspora, designers are producing work that merges cultural heritage, craftsmanship, and contemporary design thinking. As these creators increasingly engage with global markets, understanding intellectual property rights, licensing structures, contracts, and brand protection becomes a key factor in maintaining ownership and creating long-term value.

Through this partnership, the Fashion Law Institute contributes its expertise to the AIDA Awards ecosystem, helping strengthen the legal awareness and professional readiness of emerging and established designers alike.

Beyond partnership visibility, the Fashion Law Institute will contribute to the growth of Africa’s creative infrastructure through dedicated legal expertise and educational initiatives.

Key contributions include:

Together, these initiatives aim to strengthen designers’ understanding of the legal frameworks that shape today’s global creative industries. By combining recognition with access to legal expertise, the partnership helps designers better protect their intellectual property and approach the growth of their creative practice with greater confidence.

For the AIDA Awards, this collaboration adds an important dimension to its mission of supporting African design. While the awards highlight outstanding work across disciplines, partnerships such as this help ensure that designers are equipped with the professional knowledge needed to navigate international markets and safeguard the long-term value of their ideas.

Organized by Light Design Factory, the Pan-African Interior Design Summit is an industry platform dedicated to advancing interior design across Africa through dialogue, collaboration, and knowledge exchange. The summit brings together interior designers, architects, developers, manufacturers, and creative leaders for a curated program of talks, panel discussions, and networking opportunities focused on the evolving design landscape across the continent.

The 2026 edition of the PAID Summit will take place from May 7–9, 2026, bringing together designers, architects, students, and industry leaders from across Africa and the diaspora in a three-day virtual convening focused on intentional design, culture, sustainability, and the future of African-led creative practice.

By connecting professionals from across Africa and beyond, the PAID Summit encourages conversations around innovation, sustainability, cultural identity, and the future of design practice in the region. Through its programming, the initiative highlights the growing influence of African design and supports a new generation of designers contributing to the global creative community.

Through this partnership, the Africa International Design Awards and the Pan-African Interior Design Summit will collaborate to further promote excellence in African design and provide greater visibility for designers, studios, and projects shaping the continent’s creative industries.

As the first edition of the Africa International Design Awards continues to build momentum, partnerships with initiatives such as the Pan-African Interior Design Summit help strengthen the broader design network and create opportunities for collaboration, recognition, and international exposure for designers across Africa.

Two cities, two weeks, and hundreds of moments of exchange: Design Week South Africa returned for its second edition in Johannesburg from October 9–12 and Cape Town from October 23–26, reaffirming its role as a national platform for design, dialogue and urban imagination.

Johannesburg opened with Morning Sessions at here.joburg in Rosebank, hosted by Simone Schultz. Each morning, local and international voices set the tone with discussions on design’s role in shaping practice and place.

Mapping Memories at 27 Boxes turned the city into an emotional atlas through a participatory installation and workshop. Threads of Renewal II, curated by Tandekile Mkize at The Library of Things We Forgot To Remember, highlighted textiles and crafts with a contemporary lens.

At TONIC’s Parktown North showroom, Andile Buka launched Ari’s Listening Room, a series of sound-based encounters where artists and collectors explored listening as design. The Structures exhibition at JCAF opened to guided tours that examined form and the built environment in the broader Worldmaking series.

Film was present through the Reel to Reality Festival at Lang de Moun Mon, blending African and diasporic storytelling with the outdoors. Community came to the fore at the Annual Kasiology Festival in Soweto, curated by Creative20 and Jozi My Jozi. Young Urbanists led a walk along Lilian Ngoyi Street, unpacking how engineering and planning are reshaping public space.

Victoria Yards became a hub with What Is African Streetwear? by FRNDLY SA, a Tufting Workshop with FybRe Studios, and a Garden Day Celebration with urban farmer Siyabonga Ndlangamandla. The weekend closed with the Babize Bonke panel at Nando’s Central Kitchen, where Jozi My Jozi spotlighted collaborative storytelling and design-led community building.

Cape Town’s programme opened with a launch at One Park and closed at Cape Grace Hotel with Jazz Alley, framing four days of dense programming.

Highlights included The Things We Love exhibition curated by Simone Schultz with Bielle Bellingham, where creatives such as Masego Morgan, Koos Groenewald and Onesimo Bam presented their favourite locally designed objects. Morning Sessions shifted to Max Bagels at One Park, bringing together voices like Yoko Choy of Wallpaper China, Amy Thompson of Yes & Studio, and Star Shongwe of V&A Watershed.

Studios and spaces opened their doors, including Wiid Design, Hoi P’loy, Skinny laMinx, and the Longkoof Precinct in Park Road with dhk architects and Studio Mass.

Cape Town also staged product launches from Cape Cobra, Curacion Collection, Yamkela Mhlelehlele, and a MAISON KOTR installation at Arthur’s Mini Super in Sea Point. Locha Design activated the street outside One Park with the new Akan outdoor collection.

Open Langa transformed King Langa Libalele and Lerotholi Avenue into a pedestrianised corridor anchored by the ReBuilt Cape Town exhibition, in collaboration with Bauhaus Earth, the Masakhe Foundation, and the African Centre for Cities. The Active Mobility Forum led community rides from the CBD and Khayelitsha, while Young Urbanists and UTTE hosted a rare site visit to the Soweto-Caracas Community Centre in Khayelitsha.

The V&A Watershed consolidated its position as a hub for local makers, offering creative walks, exhibitions, talks, and workshops with names such as Nammu Ceramics, Pichulik, and Suzanne Elizabeth.

A National Conversation
The 2025 edition positioned design not just as a showcase but as a catalyst. From textiles to urban planning, from listening rooms to township festivals, the week demonstrated how South African creativity spans disciplines while addressing social change, economic opportunity and cultural identity.

Curated by Margot Molyneux, Zanele Kumalo, Roland Postma, and Simone Schultz, the programme was intentionally dense, encouraging visitors to curate their own journey through a landscape where design is both an everyday practice and a tool for reimagining the future.

Follow @designweeksouthafrica to keep up with the next chapter.

They were joined on stage by esteemed Jury members Titi Ogufere (CEO, Africa Design Network) and Seun Olatunji (Founder & Design Strategist, OLAT Design Consultancy), whose participation reinforced the strength, credibility, and pan-African spirit behind the AIDA initiative. Together, they delivered an inspiring call to action—inviting designers to participate, collaborate, and contribute to a new chapter where African design voices are recognized, celebrated, and amplified.

We extend our warmest thanks to the Design Week Lagos organizers for offering such a dynamic and impactful stage to introduce our program to the Nigerian design community. Their support not only enabled us to share our vision but also strengthened our commitment to fostering meaningful connections across Africa’s creative landscape.

Founded by Titi Ogufere, CEO of Essential Media Group, DWL has grown since its 2019 debut into a global platform spotlighting African design excellence. Its influence extends beyond the festival — from the Made by Design documentary series on Netflix to a steady flow of international collaborations. This year’s edition was anchored by the Lagos State Government, with support from the Federal Ministry of Tourism, drawing more than 20,000 visitors and generating 250+ million media impressions.

Backed by sponsors including Tiger Beer, Nahous, Dulux Paint, Livespot 360, and the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture, DWL 2025 underscored the power of design tourism as a driver of new industries and education in West Africa. For more information, visit www.designweeklagos.com.

Initiated by L’École de design Nantes Atlantique and supported by the Sèmè City Development Agency, Africa Design School opened its doors in 2019 in Cotonou with the mission of training designers in Africa. Accredited by the Beninese Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, our school is run by a non-profit association under Beninese law, dedicated to promoting design across the continent. In addition to offering comprehensive programs based on project-oriented pedagogy, we also organize events to raise public awareness of the challenges and opportunities of design within the African context.

A heartfelt thank you to all the students for their creativity and dedication to the AIDA Awards website project: Sogbedji Gloria, Hontonnou Olmelt, Hounkponou Rihanath Imelda, Djokoui Lionel Exauce, Atchahoue Sullivan Senou, Agueh Harris, Dossou Marie Stella Tifania, Nouatin Freude Jouvince, Bassaley Astrid Hyacinthia, Tometin Resnick, Dantondji Keren Apphia, Azmi Malick, Nadjo Shekina, Godjo Esdra Guillaume, Abibou Haniyath, Djety Emmanuel, Afangbedji Roxanne, Adossou Gilihiest, and Dah N. Gbekounou Jorden.

In spatial design, Africa has always treated space as something communal rather than simply functional. The way markets became gathering spots, or the way courtyards in Hausa or Swahili architecture invite breezes and neighbors, shows how design adds to relationships and dialogue rather than just shaping walls and rooms.