… Salone del Mobile.Milano Makes Lagos Debut
Nigeria risks losing its emerging design talents to foreign markets unless the government and private sector invest in specialised education, manufacturing and the commercialisation of locally developed products, Founder of Design Week Lagos and the Interior Designers Association of Nigeria, Titi Ogufere, has warned.
She said the country’s failure to build a strong design ecosystem was limiting the ability of young Nigerians to transform their creativity into commercially successful products, create businesses and contribute to industrial development.
Ogufere, who spoke during Design Week Lagos 2026, identified the shortage of qualified designers, inadequate specialised education and weak collaboration between manufacturers and creative professionals as major constraints to the growth of the sector.
She argued that Nigeria’s abundant raw materials and mineral resources could generate greater economic value if local designers and manufacturers were supported to transform them into finished products for domestic consumption and export.
The warning comes as international interest in Nigeria’s design market grows, with Italian furniture exports to the country rising by 27 per cent to €41.6 million in 2025, according to figures presented during the Lagos engagement by Salone del Mobile. Milano, one of the world’s leading design exhibitions.
Nigeria ranked as the fourth-largest African market for Italian furniture exports in 2025, while demand for Italian bathroom furniture in the country surged by 108.6 per cent in the first half of 2026.
For Ogufere, however, the opportunity extends beyond importing foreign products to building a domestic industry capable of developing, manufacturing and exporting Nigerian-designed goods.
“The power of design in Africa is underestimated. People do not know that design is everywhere, through our streets, our cities and everything we do,” she said.
“If we can get this right in Africa, with all our raw materials and mineral resources, we will fly.”
The potential of Nigeria’s design industry was demonstrated at the Design and Innovation Exhibition, where products developed by emerging designers attracted attention from international industry players.
Ogufere disclosed that a prototype speaker developed by one of the designers featured in the programme had attracted the interest of an Italian manufacturer seeking to commercialise the product.
The development illustrates how partnerships between designers and manufacturers can help move locally developed ideas beyond exhibition spaces to commercial markets.
According to Ogufere, the Design and Innovation Exhibition was established to support emerging creatives through product development, prototype creation, international exposure and connections with manufacturers.
Selected designers have been taken on international exposure trips, including visits to Paris and South Africa, to showcase their work and connect with the global design industry.
She said the initiative was intended to help promising designers develop commercially viable products rather than simply display their creativity.
The exhibition featured products spanning furniture, lighting, textiles and industrial design, demonstrating the potential of Nigerian talent to contribute to manufacturing and other sectors of the economy.
However, Ogufere said the lack of an established industry to absorb these professionals remained a major concern.
“My only challenge is that most of them will not last here because there is no industry to integrate them into, and there are no jobs,” she said.
She urged Nigerian manufacturers to collaborate with designers to develop innovative products that could compete with imported alternatives, create employment and strengthen local production.
Ogufere also expressed concern over the slow development of specialised design education in Nigeria, particularly in areas such as product design, industrial design and interior design.
She recalled efforts to strengthen design education at the University of Lagos through partnerships with international academics and curriculum development.
According to her, a professor from Middlesex University was engaged to support curriculum development, but the approval process reportedly took about 10 years.
She said further efforts were made to support an executive master’s programme and help the university identify lecturers who could teach the courses.
Drawing on her international professional network, Ogufere said she had sought assistance from academics and experts in interior architecture and design to help Nigerian institutions develop the expertise required to train students.
She also commended Obafemi Awolowo University for its work in advancing design education, while noting that other institutions were beginning to develop programmes in the field.
Beyond universities, she said Design Week Lagos had established incubation initiatives to expose architects, engineers, National Youth Service Corps members and other professionals to design disciplines that might not have featured prominently in their formal training.
The organisation has also worked with international institutions, including the Royal College of Art and Parsons School of Design, to support emerging designers through mentorship and incubation.
Ogufere called for stronger government support, arguing that investment in design education and research could help Nigeria unlock the value of its local resources and strengthen domestic manufacturing.
The concerns were raised as Salone del Mobile. Milano made its Nigerian debut during Design Week Lagos 2026, bringing international design leaders into direct engagement with Nigerian architects, interior designers, developers, manufacturers and business leaders.
General Manager of Salone del Mobile. Milano, Marco Sabetta, said the engagement offered international companies an opportunity to understand the needs of the Nigerian market while giving local professionals access to global design expertise.
He described the Milan-based exhibition, established in 1961, as an international platform for showcasing furniture, materials, technology and innovation.
Sabetta disclosed that the exhibition attracted more than 316,000 visitors from 167 countries in its latest edition, with international visitors accounting for 63 per cent of attendance.
He also said the number of Nigerian trade visitors to the Milan exhibition increased from 165 in 2025 to 239 in 2026.
The growing participation reflects increasing engagement between Nigerian professionals and international design markets.
Sabetta said the organisation hoped its visit to Lagos would mark the beginning of a long-term collaboration with Nigerian designers and the wider African creative industry.
The next edition of Salone del Mobile. Milano will hold from April 13 to 18, 2027, in Milan, Italy.
The 2027 programme will include SaloneSatellite, which provides a platform for emerging designers, and Salone Contract, a new initiative designed to connect manufacturers with architects, property developers, investors, contractors and procurement professionals working on large-scale projects.
The contract platform is expected to facilitate business relationships across sectors such as hospitality, offices and public spaces. Such connections could create opportunities for Nigerian designers and manufacturers to participate in projects beyond the domestic market.
Ogufere also identified Nigeria’s expanding hotel and hospitality sector as a potential market for locally designed furniture, fittings and decorative products.
She said property developers could incorporate more Nigerian-designed products into hotels and other commercial developments rather than depending predominantly on imported furnishings.
Such an approach, she noted, could help create demand for locally manufactured products while strengthening links between designers, manufacturers and property developers.
The opportunity is particularly significant as the country’s design market attracts growing international attention.
Italian furniture exports to Africa reached €448.4 million in 2025, representing a 13.1 per cent year-on-year increase, with Nigeria accounting for €41.6 million of the total.
The figures underscore the scale of the market available to international suppliers, but they also raise questions about how Nigerian manufacturers can develop competitive products to serve domestic demand.
For stakeholders at Design Week Lagos, the priority is to build an industry in which local designers can work with manufacturers, access investment and develop products that meet international standards.
Moroccan designer Hicham Lahlou also emphasised the importance of integrating design into Africa’s economic development strategy.
He argued that discussions about innovation often overlook design, even though it plays a critical role in developing products, improving functionality and creating commercial value.
Lahlou advocated stronger investment in design schools and greater collaboration between established professionals and emerging creatives.
He noted that Morocco had design schools but still needed more, highlighting the opportunity for African countries to strengthen their capacity to train designers and support innovation.
The discussions reflected a broader argument that design should be treated as an economic and industrial tool rather than solely as an artistic pursuit.
For Nigeria, developing the sector could support industries ranging from furniture and lighting to textiles, architecture, interior design and hospitality.
Founded by Ogufere, Design Week Lagos 2026 runs until October 25 under the theme, “Making a New Africa: From Material to Market.”
The festival seeks to strengthen connections between African creative talent, local manufacturers and international markets, with a focus on turning ideas and indigenous materials into commercially viable products.
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