The Ananse Centre for Design has officially opened in Lagos with a strong focus on job creation, empowerment, and sustainability within Nigeria’s creative economy. The centre, located in the Lekki area, was inaugurated on Friday by the Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa.
The initiative, developed by Ananse in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture and Creative Economy, aims to empower more than 5,000 emerging creatives in fashion and design while creating access to 50,000 jobs. Seventy per cent of these opportunities are expected to benefit women.
According to the organisers, the Ananse Centre for Design Lagos will address critical gaps in Nigeria’s fashion industry and serve as a hub for creativity, skills development, and entrepreneurship. The centre will also promote innovation, inclusion, and sustainability through advanced training and global market access for local designers.
Speaking during the inauguration, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ananse, Samuel Mensah, described the launch as a step toward transforming Africa’s creative landscape. “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 design thrives locally and globally,” Mensah said.
He explained that the initiative was created with affordability in mind to make training and access to equipment easier for emerging designers. “The centre is designed to be affordable for ordinary fashion creators who ordinarily don’t make a lot of money. So there are a couple of things that we’ve done. The first is that we’ve worked with partners like MasterCard Foundation to ensure that the key training and masterclasses that are offered there are free classes that are available to people who have limited resources. The second thing is that the training is also subsidised, so even when there is a fee, the fee is quite small relative to what you would pay ordinarily,” Mensah said.
He added that the model provides affordable access to high-end industrial machines. “The third thing about the model, which I think we’re pioneering, is the access to very sophisticated, advanced equipment at an hourly cost, so you don’t have to have the money to buy an expensive one. You can see with the industrial computerized embroidery machine, for example, that can do in a couple of minutes what it will take a human hand an entire day or two to do. A creative doesn’t have to have the resources for that, but they can have access to it at a fractional cost.”
The Country Director of the Mastercard Foundation’s Nigeria Programme, Rosy Fynn, said the organisation’s collaboration with Ananse was in line with its broader mission to support the creative industry and promote youth employment.
Fynn said, “Our partnership with Ananse and the unveiling of the Centre 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.”
She further explained that Nigeria plays a central role in the foundation’s vision for job creation. “Our focus is to enable work opportunities for young people, and we anticipate that 10 million of those work opportunities will come from Nigeria, and the creative sector is absolutely central to that. So our goal is to partner with like-minded organisations such as Ananse, who are unlocking systemic barriers that exist in the lives of your average creatives, professionals—things like access to finance, the right skills, the right tools, market access, so that they can get their product on the global stage. Those are exactly the things that Ananse is unlocking,” Fynn said.
She added, “If you’ve had a chance to look at this centre, you will see world-class machines, world-class tools, and everything that a young creative needs to succeed on the global stage. So we’re super excited about this partnership, and are looking forward to seeing a centre like this in every state in Nigeria.”
Participants at the Ananse Centre for Design will have access to 22 courses offered under five key modules: Business Skills, Business Development, E-commerce, Marketing, and Product Development. The courses will be delivered both physically at the Lekki hub and virtually through live interactive sessions.
The Ministry of Art, Culture and Creative Economy has also pledged strong support for the project. The ministry signed a five-year memorandum of understanding with Ananse to expand the model across Nigeria.
Minister Hannatu Musawa said the initiative aligns with the federal government’s agenda to promote creativity and innovation. “The launch of the Ananse Centre for Design Lagos aligns with our commitment to advancing Nigeria’s creative economy. By investing in skills, facilities and global visibility for our designers, we are creating jobs supporting women and youth, and ensuring Nigerian creativity is recognised on the world stage. Our collaboration with Ananse will help scale this model across the country and secure lasting impact for the sector,” Musawa said.
She added that the centre would not only focus on creating jobs but also on improving the skills of Nigerian designers to make them more competitive. “When you’re talking about job creation, it’s not just about the job creation. It’s also about empowering those in the industry with the capacity that they need to really add value to their own community, to the country. Also, to the soft power. So, it’s about our expression as a people, the expression of our fashion. Ananse will give us that viability and that certification that is required for us to hit that soft power, and then at the very grassroots, to really absorb as many people into the job market,” she explained.
The launch also drew participation from key international and regional partners such as DHL, Ecobank, and the African Union, who are working to strengthen the connection between Nigerian design and global audiences.
Through the Ananse.com platform, Nigerian designers will gain access to a digital marketplace that integrates logistics and secure digital payment systems. This will enable them to showcase their products to international buyers while streamlining delivery and financial transactions.
In its statement ahead of the launch, the centre emphasised sustainability as a core value, focusing on the use of eco-friendly materials and low-carbon production techniques. “By reducing reliance on imports and building strong local production chains, the Centre aims to make Nigerian design not only competitive but environmentally responsible,” the statement read.
It also noted that the initiative could create significant economic impact. “Impact modelling indicates that the facility and its ecosystem could generate tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the coming years, thereby boosting exports, small and medium-sized enterprises, and foreign exchange earnings,” the statement added.