Ananse-Center-for-Design-2025./PHOTO ; Courtesy from Mastercard Foundation
The Mastercard Foundation has partnered with Ananse, with support from Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Art, Culture & Creative Economy, to launch the Ananse Center for Design Lagos Hub.
The center, unveiled on October 10th, 2025, aims to equip young fashion creatives with the skills, infrastructure, and market access to grow their businesses and create sustainable jobs.
Ananse is a Nigerian-based organization dedicated to nurturing young fashion and design talent across Africa.
Through skills training, mentorship, and market access, it empowers emerging creatives, particularly women, to transform their ideas into sustainable businesses.
The center will catalyze Ananse’s broader mission to support over 5,000 emerging designers, with seventy percent of participants being young women, and to create access to 50,000 jobs within the fashion industry.
The launch demonstrates a strategic commitment by the Mastercard Foundation to leverage the creative economy as a pathway for youth opportunity and inclusive economic growth.
Training, Infrastructure, and Market Access
The Center offers 22 courses across five modules: Business Skills, Business Development, E-commerce, Marketing, and Product Development.
Training will be delivered both onsite and virtually, ensuring accessibility for participants nationwide.
Specialized studios for leather, clothing, footwear, and bags, along with photography and Computer-Aided Design labs, will enable hands-on product development. Content studios will help amplify brands, while co-working spaces will foster collaboration and peer learning.
Samuel Mensah, Founder and CEO of Ananse, emphasized the transformative potential of the Center: “The Ananse Center 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 design thrives locally and globally.”
Strategic Partnerships and Inclusivity
The Federal Ministry of Art, Culture & Creative Economy has endorsed the Center, signing a five-year memorandum of understanding with Ananse to scale the model nationwide.
Hannatu Musa Musawa, Minister of Art, Culture, and Creative Economy, highlighted the government’s commitment to fostering creativity as an economic driver.
International partners, including DHL, Ecobank, and the African Union, will connect Nigerian creatives to global audiences.
Rosy Fynn, Country Director for Nigeria Program at Mastercard Foundation, said:
“Our partnership with Ananse and the unveiling of the Center for Design Lagos reflects the Mastercard Foundation’s strategic commitment to the creative sector as a catalyst for youth opportunity. By bringing together training, infrastructure, and access to markets, the Centre creates pathways for young people, especially young women, to thrive, build sustainable livelihoods, and contribute meaningfully to inclusive economic growth.”
Designers, artisans, and other creative entrepreneurs can access the Center’s full range of services from training programmes and mentorship to machinery rentals, product sampling, studio spaces, and business support.
The Ananse.com platform complements the Center by providing designers with an online marketplace featuring integrated logistics and digital payments, enabling them to reach buyers worldwide.
Accessibility is central to the Center’s design.
Vulnerable groups, including displaced people, are encouraged to participate, ensuring that the initiative reaches those most in need while promoting inclusion within the creative economy.
Sustainability and Economic Impact
Sustainability is embedded in both the training and operational approach.
The Center emphasizes eco-friendly materials and low-carbon manufacturing methods, while fostering strong local production chains to reduce reliance on imports.
Impact modelling indicates that the Center and its ecosystem could generate tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the coming years, boosting small and medium-sized enterprises, exports, and foreign exchange earnings.
By integrating skills development, infrastructure, and market access under one roof, the Ananse Center for Design Lagos positions Nigeria’s fashion and design sector for global competitiveness, economic inclusion, and environmental responsibility.
For young designers, artisans, and entrepreneurs, it offers not just training but a launchpad for sustainable growth in the creative economy.
As Mensah notes, the initiative aims to “amplify African talent, foster innovation, and empower a generation of designers to compete on a global stage.”
About the Mastercard Foundation
The Mastercard Foundation is a registered Canadian charity and one of the largest foundations in the world.
It works with visionary organizations to advance education and financial inclusion to enable young people in Africa and Indigenous youth in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work.
Its Young Africa Works strategy aims to enable 30 million young people to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030, while its EleV Program will support 100,000 Indigenous youth in Canada to complete their education and transition to meaningful work aligned with their traditions, values, and aspirations.
About Ananse
Ananse creates technology and training solutions that enable African creatives to scale globally through e-commerce, digital payments, digital sourcing, and distributed manufacturing.
With a mission to empower creatives across the continent, Ananse is building a sustainable design ecosystem that drives inclusive prosperity and global recognition.
Help us tell more untold stories of African Changemakers!
To DONATE or Pledge: CLICK HERE
