By Dayo Oyinlola

A financial services firm, Woodhall Capital, has pledged commitment to providing financing for the Nigerian design industry at the 2025 edition of Design Week Lagos.
The financing option, packaged in a series known as Design Den, affords creatives the opportunity to attract funding for their businesses.

The 2025 edition of Design Week Lagos began on Wednesday, February 26 at the Ecobank Pan African Centre, Ozumba Mbadiwe, Victoria Island, and for every visitor who walked into the venue on the first day, it was the beginning of an awesome experience.

With exquisite interior options, magnificent furniture pieces and incredible art pieces, attendees were greeted with beautiful sights.

With a large board displaying the works of Demas Nwoko and a huge installation by the Nike Art Gallery further in the recesses of the displayed works, any newcomer would be forgiven for thinking of it as an established gallery.

A quick tour of the centre showed an impressive line-up of designers, manufacturers, interior makers and craftsmen weaving quintessential Nigerian fabrics.

The effort to make this edition markedly different further inspired Design Week Lagos to announce partnering with Woodhall Capital on a new show called Design Den, which is fashioned in the mould of TV spectacles that afford young creatives and startup founders the opportunity of pitching ideas to judges towards securing financing options to help them expand and scale up.

Drive the creative industry
Addressing newsmen after a tour of the pavilion on the first day of this year’s Design Week Lagos, the event’s organisers said the initiative will drive the creative industry, long regarded as an important cultural force and an economic powerhouse.

Founder of Design & Innovation Exhibition, Titi Ogufere, said the idea behind the show is to enhance the creative industry and open a new vista of financing for creatives in the design industry across Nigeria.

Ogufere, whose organisation is behind Design Week Lagos, said: “At this year’s Design Week Lagos, we are proud to introduce The Design Den—a first-of-its-kind initiative focused on industrializing and financing the design industry. This is not just about supporting designers; it’s about building an entire ecosystem where creativity meets capital and industry. We are unveiling our vision to transform design into a structured, investment-worthy sector that can drive economic growth across Africa.”

Scale up.

She added: “One important thing to note about the partnership we are building with Woodhall Capital is that we have been able to scale up to commit a lot more funding to the industry. So, we are not afraid but you have to make sure that your structure is right. You have to make sure that you have done the work because sometimes, some people would come and say I want XYZ amount of funding. And then you have that kind of money. And also, you know, it’s also a journey for us, because sometimes it’s good for you to see your product and focus on the fact that this product gives you $2,000 but what is the market-ready outlook? Because when funders give you money, they want to ensure they can get their money back and we have to make sure of that.”

Boost of American market.

On the level of impact expected with the initiative, especially drawing inspiration from what has been done in other places across the world, Ogufere posited that the importance of funding for the creative sector cannot be overstated, given how financiers have helped to boost the American market for example.

“We looked at different markets and how different markets have progressed and their economies have been built. If you look at America, America was built by inventors and creators and financiers. The United States economy did not have access to funding and did not have access to that strategic partnership. From America, when we had the top boards designing cars, they needed access to funding to scale, to give it the jobs and all these creators whose products we are enjoying today.

“In Nigeria, we are rich in creativity. As you walked around, you saw the works of people designing from dolls to furniture and rolls. To even upcoming stars that we can use in markets. If these things can be scaled and the right kind of structure can be put in place, many businesses can scale. I am really excited about this partnership, like I said, because this partnership is going to open doors that I believe will bring forth an industrial revolution,” she submitted.

Helping businesses

While focusing on the fundamentals of her company’s involvement, Founder and CEO of Woodhall Capital, Mojisola Hunponu-Wusu, said the motive is towards helping businesses in the design industry attract funding and investment to increase their operational footprints and expand to different markets.

“We have to test if you actually have clients and customers to see if people would actually pay for this to ascertain the financial ingenuity of some of the assumptions you’ve made in creating your products. So, more than just a series, there is financial literacy, there is market access, there is global visibility, but there’s actually market access and market feedback data on whether or not, maybe you should be doing something totally or slightly different. It helps with information on maybe you should advise this person to focus on the corporate space where there is a huge gap, with the offices that are coming up today, and people going back to work after working from home for some time.

Intentionality of designers

“I have spent 32 hours reflecting, because I was overwhelmed by the quality of creativity that we saw today. I could not articulate myself back when I went round the pavilions. Just the intentionality of some of these designers to showcase the best of Africa and the intentionality of reflecting Africa. It is easier sometimes to do commercially viable Western things. But what we saw today, I saw people passionate about what Africa has to offer and bringing their skills to almost be a marketing arm of everything good and creative in Africa. And that really excited me.

“So, everything from bedrock, to artwork, to chairs, to the various uses of pieces of wood, to conference tables, to ordering tables, to bathtubs. I am really thrilled. Heather, the ladies from Northern Nigeria, showcasing the best of everything that Nigeria has to offer in Africa.”

Design Den

On the series, Design Den, which will be on YouTube as a series and widely watched across the world, stating that part of the reason behind the initiative is the projected positioning of Nigeria and Africa as the bastion of creativity and design.

“And I think, just in a few minutes, our role here, particularly with the game, Design Den, is to take this conversation beyond this exhibition and begin to build a narrative that showcases some of the best we saw. Showing that to the world, ensuring that not just for Woodhall Capital, that we have access to funding. And we can develop some of the prototypes that we saw today. We saw cars, we saw chairs, bench chairs, 3D design, creative design. And how can they scale? They need access to capital so that the world can see industrialization and the applicants themselves can industrialise. And for us at Woodhall Capital, we have decided that we put our money where our mouth is. If indeed we want to showcase Africa to the world, the funding has to actually start by Africans for Africans. It is a pleasure to have this unique partnership with Design Week Lagos.

She said: “We are looking forward to actually being a judge on some of these cases. I am very interested in the creative sector. I am looking forward to us beginning to see some of the things that are going to be exhibited. And showcasing the best that Africa has to provide.”

Oyinlola resides in Lagos