Design week Lagos has showcased the creativity and innovation of African designers at its 2026 exhibition, with founder Titi Ogufere calling for stronger collaboration between designers and manufacturers to promote the growth of the continent’s design industry, RaveNewsOnline reports .
Ogufere made the call during a guided press tour of the exhibition, where she highlighted works by Nigerian and African designers, including furniture, lighting and other contemporary design pieces that have attracted international attention.
The event themed, ‘Making a New Africa: From Material to Market.’ runs from October 18 to 25.
Speaking further, Ogufere noted the exhibition had travelled globally, with presentations in Milan, Paris and South Africa, before returning to Lagos as part of efforts to introduce African design talent to international audiences and connect designers with potential manufacturers.
According to her, some of the exhibited works began as prototypes but have attracted interest from international brands seeking to commercialize them.
One example was a speaker prototype that has drawn the attention of an Italian brand, Ombre, which is interested in producing and selling the design.
Ogufere said such developments demonstrated the potential of African designers to create products that could compete in international markets.
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However, she expressed concern that many Nigerian designer trained abroad might struggle to establish themselves locally because of the limited number of industries capable of absorbing their skills.
“My only challenge with that is that most of them will not last here because there is no industry to integrate, no jobs”, she said, stressing the need for manufacturers to embrace locally developed designs and provide opportunities for emerging talents.
Beyond product design, the exhibition also highlighted the role of design in addressing practical challenges in Nigeria, particularly transportation and environmental sustainability.
One of the projects highlighted during the tour was the OmiBus ferry initiative, developed by winners of Design Week Lagos student competition in partnership with Caverton Marine.
Alake Richards, a master’s student of architecture at Obafemi Awolowo University, said his team’s entry focused on designing a ferry that reflected Lagos’s cultural identity through its shape, colours and overall appearance.
He explained that the objective was to create a vessel that could be immediately identified with Lagos rather than resemble designs associated with other countries.
Richard said the team’s success in the competition had opened opportunities to move beyond conceptual designs into practical implementation.
According to him, the project has progressed from the concept and design stages to construction and operation, with the latest development involving the transition towards electric powered water transportation.
He said the team was working on the OmiBus 3.0 while exploring ways to make Lagos waterways more sustainable through electric vessels and supporting infrastructure.
He said pilot operations had included a route from Falomo to Ikorodu, adding that the team was exploring the development of an electric terminal in Ikorodu to support the initiative.
The broader ambition, he said, was to expand sustainable water transportation across key areas of Lagos, including CMS, Falomo and Ikorodu.
Earlier, while fielding questions from the press, Ogufere said that the platform was established to address gaps in Nigeria’s design industry, including inadequate professional training, limited product development and insufficient collaboration between designers and manufacturers.
She said the industry had significant economic potential but remained underdeveloped despite Africa’s abundance of raw materials and mineral resources.
“We saw a gap in the market because we saw that we don’t have qualified designers in the market. Also, a lot of the manufacturers are not designing with new ideas,” she said.
She explained that the initiative had been working with manufacturers and designers to develop products while showcasing established Nigerian brands and emerging ideas across furniture, textiles and industrial design.
According to her, the Made by Design Show brings established brands together in one location, making it easier for consumers and industry professionals to discover locally available products.
“The power of design in Africa is underestimated. People don’t know that design is everywhere,” Ogufere said.
“Our streets, our city, everything we do is designed. So the way Lagos is and the way Nigeria is, is because it was designed.”
She said developing products from locally available resources could strengthen manufacturing, create jobs and generate sustainable wealth across the continent.
“The West was built by inventors, people that built from television, airplanes, and things. And if we can get this right in Africa, with all our raw materials, all our mineral resources, we will fly,” she said.
Ogufere also called for increased government investment in design education, research and the development of local materials into marketable products.
She disclosed that Design Week Lagos had supported efforts to strengthen design education through university partnerships, curriculum development and incubation programmes for architects, engineers, National Youth Service Corps members and other aspiring designers.
However, she expressed concern about limited institutional support for some of the initiative’s activities, including the Design and Innovation Exhibition, which provides emerging designers with opportunities to develop prototypes and establish connections with manufacturers.
She said the organisers had continued to invest in the exhibition because of their belief in the economic potential of the design industry.
“We believe in what we’re doing, and we believe that, as we keep on pushing, the government will hear us, and they’ll support us more,” she said.
