BEYOND FASHION
Source | Design | Develop in Africa
African Mosaique has a strong social business and developmental dimension. Prior to its commercialization, African Mosaique was a not-for-profit cultural initiative based in New York City, and for over a decade, showcased and promoted numerous emerging designers and small producers from all over Africa, working with various public and private organizations.
We seek to invest throughout the value-chain of the creative fashion industry by aggregating and connecting an ecosystem of local talent with training programs, physical and digital infrastructure, and distribution and marketing channels to enable African designers and craft artisans, to access local and overseas consumer markets.
We also aim to change the current perception of African fashion both locally and in more advanced economies by creating a unique business model, value proposition and story for suppliers and consumers to value, appreciate, consume and help sustainably wear Africa’s rich history of accumulated collective traditions and heritage throughout time. It is our belief that Africa be perceived as more than just a market for low-cost labor and production of imported designs but rather, as a market where local value chains of authentic designs and traditions, modern production techniques, unique culture and talented people gather to create, promote and celebrate African culture, regionally and globally, through fashion.
Furthermore, and as part of our mission, we feel strongly about the need to preserve, nurture and promote local traditions that define our identity and that tell our story. The African Mosaique business model deters away from the traditional outsourcing to low-cost labor-Africa story, to a story where African entrepreneurs combined their resources to build a leading international fashion brand and network with Ethiopia as the launch pad and regional hub.
We understand, designers across Africa face similar constraints: lack of institutional support, of proper training institutes, of sustainable sourcing of raw material, of hard and soft equipment, and of a proper understanding of the consumer wants and norms. Furthermore, African designers often lack the resources to develop retail presence and distribution capabilities in key consumer markets.
It is on this premise that African Mosaique built the required infrastructure to address the key pain points of Africa’s apparel industry. By building an integrated industrial production and training unit in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Abeba, with a branch in Bahr Dar, e-commerce capabilities soon to begin, retail points in select African countries, African Mosaique has spearheaded the growth of a movement and conceived a framework that can be used to deliver impact in the fashion industry.
African Mosaique Fashion Incubator
September 2016 AM launched African Mosaique Fashion Incubator, AMFI, in an ongoing effort to identify and nurture emerging talent. Currently in its fourth cycle, the incubator space provides free workshops and training for up and coming designers. The Fashion Incubator is one of the first of its kind in Africa providing programs that offer designers with on job training, skills development and understanding the business of fashion. The design graduates, will be given the opportunity to develop further their creativity, working and learning with experts, with additional access to a fully integrated manufacturing hub, raw materials and industry know-how. A key component of the program will also be learning the business of fashion, from setting up his or her own labels or working in different fields in the fashion industry. Ultimately giving the opportunity to express their creativity in developing their own Capsule Collection. Incubator sessions range from building on technical skills and trend forecasting, pricing, provide production skills, business planning, brand marketing and image creation. It also assists designers to stay current on industry trends, by providing tools and training. And ultimately hi-profile opportunities to showcase and promote nationally and beyond.
Designers are selected from a nation-wide call for designers, under the age of 35 with one-year minimum education in fashion and one-year work experience. Applications accepted every September.
If you would like to get more information send us an email and we will be in contact soon.
ECF Children's Fund
African Mosaique was also motivated by the cause of sustainability and the young in Africa. Financial proceeds from African Mosaique fund raising events have been supporting ECF Children’s Fund for the past 20 years. ECF a multi – sectorial development program for vulnerable and destitute children, primarily orphans, in rural Ethiopia. It has pioneered a holistic approach to providing education to some of the most marginalized children in the world, by combining education, with primary healthcare and basic nutrition in a secure campus for orphans and at-risk children.