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Here are a few Tshirt designs I have also made

As a designer I love coming up with new ideas and getting inspired by the culture around me. With this I was moved to launch my own clothing line collection where I used my own African culture to design prints for Hoodies. Hoodies that could not be found anywhere else.

I would love to know your feedback on my designs (see below for a few). Check out the full collection on https://www.etsy.com/shop/AfricanThings

Start your own business online with no money in Nigeria
Now more than ever, people need an alternative source of income. One that requires individuals to spend little money on starting up, even none at all. The economic crunch as a result of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic has closed several doors, but also has open many more. As more businesses and companies make the definitive move to the online space, you might want to consider some of these online ventures for yourself.

Read more: https://africanthings.org/start-your-own-business-online-with-no-money/

Kid's Dashiki Shirt Available on our Etsy shop which ships worldwide
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/897247776/kids-unisex-dashiki-africa-tribal-print

Pushing the boundaries of African Clothing. Check out our Etsy shop were we use African print in a unique way to create outfits that are like no other.
https://africanthings.org/modern-african-dresses/
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AfricanThings

Pushing the boundaries of African Clothing. Check out our Etsy shop were we use African print in a unique way to create outfits that are like no other.
https://africanthings.org/modern-african-dresses/

Clothes are no doubt an essential part of the human life, one which humans have become exceedingly creative and innovative in. From making fabrics with flax seeds in Egypt to high fashion and camp on the runways; the clothing industry is no doubt one of the most productive and highly coveted industries there is today. It's a saturated industry anywhere in the world but of course, it's a multibillion-dollar venture, one where people take courses to learn the ropes, the tricks of the trade and everything else needed to be successful in it.

Nigeria is no different. Everywhere you go, every corner you turn— you see bespoke tailors, fashion designers, small to large scale clothing and apparel producers and dealers; all participating actively in this multibillion-dollar industry.

The mass production of clothes (locally called ready-to-wear) in Nigeria and even all over the world includes uniform manufacturing, garment and apparel and much more. Here are 5 tips on starting a ready-to-wear business:

1. What is your niche
Is it loungewear, sports gear or is it dresses or street wear? Are you targeting men, women, kids or all of the above? Before you even begin to budget, or even produce you must identify your target market or your niche. This will help you develop your value and value proposition which will also give customers a reason to pick you over other businesses offering the same products.

Looking for inspiration on your product design? Visit our store and see various products from different producers on African Things. https://africanthings.org/shop/ or call us on +2348166725362

2. Produce in-house or Outsource?

You may choose to produce your garments in house, or you could outsource to an apparel production company. You can come to this decision by taking into consideration your niche and the availability of resources needed to create those garments. You may also consider your current capabilities, constraints and how expensive in-house production would be in comparison to outsourcing.

If you do choose to outsource and partner with an apparel company or clothes manufacturer, African Things will take the burden of finding your manufacturer off your hands. Now you can add quotes on products you see in our store or Post a request with us. Simply select your desired category which in this case would be under cloth manufacturing. Similarly, you may be looking for school uniform manufacturers in Lagos.


Have tailoring companies in Nigeria come to you instead; it's only a click away: https://africanthings.org/community/post-a-request/.

3. Construct a budget
Creating your budgets will require knowledge on all you need to produce your apparel and garments, and the price points attached to those needs. You may have to do some sourcing and compare prices in order for you to construct an accurate enough budget for your business.
Consider the current stage of your business, think of your current production capacity, think of a model in which you want to operate with. Other factors that can be included in your budget (depending on how you choose to operate) are: rents, salaries, transport costs, delivery costs, packaging and so on.

4. Quality Control
This step is quite crucial when outsourcing production to clothing producers and apparel companies. You want to make sure that the designs, the finishing and the overall quality is satisfactory. Minimizing production errors and imperfections should be of uttermost importance whether you are producing your ready-made clothes yourself or working with a producer.

5. Where do I sell?
After all is said and done, you're left with one major question of where to sell your new ready to wear clothes. We can help with that. African Things also provides a marketplace platform for made in Africa goods. Here, you can create a store and sell your products.

We have a wide range of demographics and buyers who visit the website, making it the best bet for exposing your business. Learn more about our vendor program and how to register (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox5-JaJAuN0).

Take advantage of this opportunity by becoming an African Things vendor and begin selling on our site! https://africanthings.org/my-account/?action=register

African Things (www.africanthings.org) is an online e-commerce marketplace dedicated to providing a quick, safe and secure platform for B2B (Buyer to Buyer) interactions, connecting manufacturers, producers and retailers from all across Nigeria and the Globe.

Our marketplace aims to help hundreds of African producers and business owners connect with buyers and facilitate sales via a secure escrow payment mechanism. All this in addition to being an online retail store, cataloguing and selling our own quality manufactured products and those of other businesses and producers. This makes us the idea partners for companies looking for distributors in Nigeria and across Africa.

Our community of manufacturers across Africa, distributors and dealers, allows for individuals and businesses in need of bulk goods to easily find and connect with producers simply by posting a request under the particular category on our forum. Whether it is beauty and skin care, accessories or food and beverage; we connect buyers to their potential suppliers without them having to go to a physical location. We put suppliers in contact with their potential buyers and see that the supply process is complete and satisfactory. We have teamed up with shipping companies such as DHL, Freight.Ng and Courier Plus to adequately fulfil all your import and export needs. For more information on posting requests, watch our step-by-step video (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox5-JaJAuN0).

We are here to assist you with a secure way to purchase items ranging from lifestyle products, home décor, food and beverage, skin care, souvenirs and much more. Simply visit our shop.

Our platform offers manufacturers, producers and other related businesses the opportunity the sell on our website, simply by registering on African Things as a Vendor and choose your subscription plan. We have three subscription plans to select from, all offering safe escrow protected transaction on the platform, unlimited product listings, data & reporting and mini-site creation. Populating and maintaining your store is even easier; we offer professional product photography and product writing services while giving you freedom to keep inventory and manage your store from the back end.

The African Things website also serves as an African buyer’s business directory, and a totally free Nigerian business listing site for those in need of greater online presence. It is a great opportunity to further expose your brand and foster connections with consumers and buyers. You can also become and African Things Distributor! Buy our well-crafted, branded products in bulk for wholesale.

View this page for details and how to register (https://africanthings.org/buy-african-products-wholesale/).

The Founder of African Things, Tosin Lawson began her business journey in 2013 during her NYSC program. She is a graduate of the University of Nottingham with a BEng in Product Design and Manufacture and holds an MBA from the Lagos Business School. After her first degree, she returned to Nigeria and began her NYSC program where she served as an extra-curricular instructor; teaching young school-goers how to create African-inspired products. She also worked for The Chair Centre, a corporate furniture design company where she served as the Design Executive. After this, she left The Chair Centre to pursue her brand ‘African Things’ full time.

Tosin was also selected as one of the one thousand African entrepreneurs to take part in Tony Elumelu’s Entrepreneurship Programme which was established to grow businesses with the continent. The company initially started as a wholesale business where Tosin bought wholesale from other brands and resold to her friends and family. It slowly grew to a company that now stocks its products at over 30 stores across Nigeria. She has been featured in several interviews including Enterprise54.com, Lionesses of Africa, CofoundHER, and Connect Nigeria.

Tosin Lawson set up Africa Things to promote African designs and culture in everyday day life both at home and amongst the Diaspora by pushing the already booming industry to international standards including lifestyle items such as home accessories and everyday fashion items. She opened her flagship store in Ikeja City Mall in a partnership with Mrs. Sola Babatunde, the owner of OSC College of fashion.

As an African and black woman in business she has been faced with many challenges, from racism to cultural biases but through it all she has created a company that has stood the test of time growing every stage and creating new jobs for the masses.

visit our website www.africanthings.org to find out more about us or call us on +2348166725362

African Things have been very fortunate, but just like any other business; we have gone through many challenges. Internally, we had to deal with the high turnover rate of staff. As a small company, we do not have the money to pay for highly qualified staff and when we were able to get skilled graduates, they get experience and then moved on to other companies that could pay them more.

I also had to deal with quality control problems; we went through so many producers in hopes of finding the right partners who also had attention to detail and delivered quality on consistent bases. Even now we have to ensure that we put in quality control measures to ensure our producers never get comfortable with giving the bare minimum or expect us to ‘just manage it’.

Externally I still have challenges getting my target market to be aware of the company, building up brand awareness among giants like HP, Targus, and Compact, who also sell backpacks and laptop bags has been difficult. The real challenge is getting people to trust the brand and changing their negative image that Made in Nigeria products are of less quality.

The increased exchange rate also has a huge impact on the business as even though most of my products are made in Nigeria, I had to increase my prices, as 100% of my raw materials are all imported and increased in cost. I had a hard time explaining this to the stores I supplied to, as they felt I was taking advantage of the situation at the time.

Managing our accounts and inventory has and still is one of our biggest internal problems today. In the beginning days of the company, we did not have a company account, I was using my personal account and spending the money as quickly as it came in. I did not have any accounting system to know how much I was spending and if I was making a profit or not. I still remember the ‘eureka’ moment when I realized that I was not accounting for my travel expenses and I was only focusing on the production cost and had failed to look at all the other additional cost that went into running the business such as transport, mobile credit, marketing and more. I remember feeling like I made money but did not know where it all went.

We now use wave accounting to manage our finances and also an inventory management system to ensure that all our products are properly documented. We know where every product goes to and how much money we are spending. It is not perfect but with the aid of my training from Lagos Business School, I am getting more knowledge on what needs to be done.

In light of the current epidemic affecting the world African Things (www.africanthings.org) wants to render its service in the production and supply of CDC compliant facemask for the general population. 

We are capable of producing over 10,000 facemask within a week. They are made to CDC specifications and samples have been tested to see that it will reduces the transmission of droplets generated when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

We can have them made with African print fabric or single colours as you wish. They can also include other specifications you may require such as branding and brand colour. 

We can supply 10,000units of our current designs at N250 each. This initiative would help Nigerian SMEs and artisans to be economically active during this pandemic.

I can also arrange for a sample to be delivered to you. Kindly contact us on +2348166725362

We supply african inspired gift items for both wedding and corporate clients.
Call us on +2348166725362
or email us on support@africanthings.org
visit our website www.africanthings.org to find out more about us

Whether it's a sentimental present for an anniversary or birthday, or some souvenir during the typical Saturday 'Owambe' that half of the attendees may never even get, the task of coming up with a memorable (or at least functional) gift can be tasking.
And so, we at African Things (www.africanthings.org) have decided to take some load off your shoulders and do the thinking for you. We've accumulated a list of ten souvenirs and gift ideas for everything ranging from wedding souvenirs to corporate to promotional gift items.

1. Throw Pillows:
A definite go for Valentine's day, as corporate gifts and as a birthday gift for people who enjoy collecting different lifestyle products. We offering an affordable customization service for that special someone. However, we would not recommend giving these out as wedding souvenirs or in gift bags for birthdays or even... burials!?! Nigerians tend to go overboard, and I don't think anyone would genuinely want the face of your uncle who's passed away on a throw pillow.


2. Skin & Hair Care Products:
There are many affordable, super high quality, made-in-Nigeria skin, and hair care brands taking the market by storm. The only task is finding one that could fit into your budget. You can stop by our store at Ikeja city mall to have your feel of amazing brands from Nigeria.
Not only is a great ‘for her’ gift, men could also leverage on certain products that suit their own grooming needs (every guy with facial hair seems to want that beard oil these days). However, we advise purchasing products made with natural ingredients, as they are often friendly for all skin types.



3. Notebooks/Journals/Sketchbooks:
You can brand them, you can personalize them, you can cover them in any African print fabric you want, and they'll be good to go. Notebooks are perhaps the simplest thing you can include in your gift bags for any special events or give out to customers at the end of the year.


4. African print/ leather wallets:
Everybody requires a sturdy wallet or two. Not only do they make good gift items, but they are also very practical and functional.


5. Home Decor Items.
If you're thinking of a good wedding gift, you might want to get the newlyweds a little piece for their home decor. African Things offers a selection of table cloths, runners, place holders and several other things that can be mixed and matched with other household items to create a beautiful ethnic decor.


6. Travel Accessories:
For your friend who seems to always be on the go, whether they are on their way out of the country on business, or they are paying their family a visit, travel accessories are a define go-to.
Pick from African Things wide range of travel accessories including Ankara suitcases, toilet bags, and neck pillows.


7. Magnets:
African Things has a selection of Nigerian themed magnets (our favorites are the little Danfo ones).
A little something special for the kids, they can stick on the fridge at home or on their lockers at school. It's also a good little present for people visiting Africa for the first time. When they depart, they would have a piece of Lasgidi to take back home with them.


8. KEYRINGS
Keyrings are a functional and very popular Nigerian souvenir idea that everybody finds useful. But one gets tired of the usual plastic flip-flop or bottle opener ornament. So why not opt for something different? Visit our shop at Ikeja City Mall to view our selection of keyrings or visit our online shop page.


9. PRINT BACKPACK
For the university student or young freelancer, an African print backpack is something every young person on the go would like to own.
They can also be used for corporate gifts, select your own fabrics to match your company’s brand and have them branded. This could be for a backpack or a laptop bag


10. A TIE SET
This makes a great ‘for him’ gift or a classy groom’s men gift. Have all your groomsmen in matching bow ties made with the wedding "Aso Ebi’. You can also give it out at an Old Boys meeting or a company retreat, have all the men in matching bow ties and ladies with matching neck scarves. Our in-shop sets contain neckties or bow ties with a pair of cufflinks and pocket-handkerchief.

Call us or message us on WhatsApp +2348166725362
or visit our website www.africanthings.org for more ideas

Are you looking to buy wholesale Ankara products in Nigeria but are finding the process of locating quality manufacturers difficult? It can be a very stressful task, identifying the right partners to collaborate with. This may make you want to start making the bags yourself but this also comes with its own stress.

This article will show you the best way to identify quality wholesale Ankara manufacturers in Nigeria… it’s not 100% stress-free because Nigeria in itself is stressful, but this is the best method that I have found in identifying good quality partners.

* Have a specific design in mind
* Do not leave it to the producer alone to develop the design. They may give you suggestions but ensure that you have a clear idea of what you want to be made.
* Have measurements and specifications on the materials you want to be used.
* A sample MUST be made
* Most producers will charge you extra for a sample to be made. Do not see it as an unnecessary expense; it is very important to do a sample. It will save you a lot of headaches while running the bulk order.
* Do as many quality tests on the sample made. Carry out stress tests and ensure the sewing has been done well. Carry the sample around and in different situations for over a week.
* Show your potential customer the sample and get feedback on the design.
* Any adjustments you want to be made to the sample should be documented even if it is via email or WhatsApp chat. This is to prevent he said she said situation.
* If you want a lot of corrections made to the sample it is best to have another sample made.
* Do not make corrections after the approval of the sample has been made. So be sure that the sample is exactly what you want.
* Hold on to the sample; it is your legal proof of what you asked for.
* Give the production company your specific date for delivery. Do not be vague. “I want it 2 weeks from today.”
* Make payment on time.
- If you delay payment, it can delay the production of your order.
- Pay a deposit; do not pay the full amount as insurance.
* Do not skip QUALITY CONTROL
- Check every single product one by one. The outside and the inside.
- Compare the final production with the sample originally delivered.
- Ask them for a warranty period.
* Pay the balance on time
- Paying on time and with little stress will help you build a good relationship with your new-found producer.
* A good relationship can go a long way toward building a sustainable business.

With all this said and done, note that African Things Lifestyle and Fashion will be there for you as your reliable wholesale manufacturing partner. We have done the steps above over and over for over 30 clients including Digital jewels, CIBN, Google, Sattrak and many more start-up businesses.

Call us on +2348166725362 or visit our website www.africanthings.org[color=#770077][/color]

https://africanthings.org/ankara-wholesale-in-nigeria-where-to-buy-wholesale-bags/

For the last 5 years, African Things have been Nigerian's leading African print school bag manufacturer, producing corporate African inspired gift items for corporations such as Digital jewels, CIBN and Naijablackout, to name a few. With our professional production partners, African Things has consistently met up with tight deadlines and delivered quality products that meet up to our high standards.
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www.africanthing.org

African Things takes pride in manufacturing unique bags -- school bags, laptop bags, and gift bags that are specially made for each client. We develop 2D designs for them to approve; then, we provide them with unique African prints to select from to complete the design. Our clients become part of the bag making process as we ensure that the design suits their needs and also showcases the company’s brand identity in the best light.

The design is brought to life with a physical sample which shows our stitching and material selection. Once the sample has been approved, 70% of the total amount is expected to be paid; then production begins. As manufacturers, we strive to deliver on or before the expected delivery time.

All the materials needed for the production and all the skilled laborers needed for the completion of the job are gathered by us. As production starts, we put in operational systems to ensure the final production matches the sample. Quality control measures such as physical checks and stress tests are carried out on the bags produced. For items such as school bags, large textbooks are put in them for a day, while laptops are left in laptop bags and carried around for a day or two.
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Once the bags have passed quality control, they are packaged in transparent plastic. Delivery is arranged, and the product is shipped to the client. African Things has several shipping partners that ship across Nigeria and worldwide.

We have shipped products to the United Kingdom, Germany, and the USA. We give one month warranty after delivery and follow up with the customer on any feedback they may have.

African Things designs and produces Ankara bags and other accessories and sells at wholesale prices. So instead of making the bags yourself you can have use make it for you at and affordable price. With over 3,000 followers on instagram we can also market your company for you as well.

Visit our website at www.africanthings.org to see the list of over 30 stores we supply to including Spar, Mega Plaza and Hubmart supermarket to name a few. You can also call us on 08166725362 to ask any questions you may have.

If you want the original designer of these products contact us on www.africanthings.org or call us on 08166725362

African Things can make Ankara bags for you at low cost and help you market

School bag
Backpack
Ankara Jewelry
Laptop bags and more

Call us on 08166725362 or visit our website www.africanthings.org to find aout more about us