About the project
Aba, a commercial center in the Eastern part of Nigeria is an interesting paradox: It is a town of enterprising young people with tremendous potential to create jobs through entrepreneurship in key areas of leatherworks, shoemaking and fashion design. Unfortunately, the city lacks proper infrastructure and government investment to make it thrive. One challenge that is faced by entrepreneurs in Aba is that of perception. There is a general belief that products and goods made in Aba are of substandard and inferior quality. As such many Nigerians do not patronize these entrepreneurs but prefer to embrace goods imported into the country from places like China and Korea. This has had an adverse effect on the economic growth of the city and has made it difficult for the existing businesses to grow. **The Disruptive Idea** Empower the major manufacturing and trade clusters and stakeholders in Aba and Aba area to build a brand (area brand) that will be recognized the world over for export quality. This brand will be known as Proudly MADE IN ABA. This has led to the current "Proudly Made in Aba" campaign, sponsored by Ford Foundation which kicked off formally in May 2017. Our campaign was designed to expose the overlooked enterprise, resilience, craftsmanship and availability of skilled labour to create desire from potential customers, investors and the world. The campaign went viral on social media, generating over $150,000 worth of media mentions, placing Aba under the nation's microscope as the centre for economic growth. The government has begun developing initiatives to help empower the entrepreneurs in the region and have adopted the iconography we developed as the official icon for all Made in Aba initiatives.
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ABA Hackathon:Get that Hot Idea Sponsored
Aba, located in the southeast of Nigeria and the commercial centre of Abia State is a bustling town of settlers – most of whom have been attracted by the lure of doing business in an energised community. It has a population of over 600,000, with over one-tenth of this population being artisans producing garments and leather shoes and fabricating machines. One in six of these people is a manufacturer and an employer of labour.The normal average in Aba is one shop owner to between five to seven workers. The most common refrain in Aba is, When I finish I will get money to start my own’ and that is why you would get so many people who have more than two decade’s experience doing the same thing. These business owners continue to mentor others. To promote a new image for “Made In Aba” goods TBWA Concept partnered with Ford Foundation and the Abia State Government, to develop the “Proudly Made in Aba” campaign.
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