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Interview with Mark Kwami

MADE51 – The UNHCR initiative that brings refugee made products to a global market

5 Dec 2023

Connecting refugee artisans to global value chains – that is the goal of Mark Kwami. The designer works with talented refugees around the world to bring their unique handmade products to global markets. As designer and product developer of MADE51, he founded a collaborative working model to address the global refugee crisis. In this interview, he explains how retailers, brands and designers can become part of this solution and what role sustainability plays in it.

"MADE 51 is a collaborative working model. It’s not a brand, but a solution. We offer retailers the chance to become part of this solution to the refugee crisis by supporting us with expertise or buying our products."

MADE51 is supported by local social enterprises to develop collections of design-oriented home accessories, fashion and gift items. The extraordinary products combine design with history, tradition with modernity. Each object reflects the skills of the refugee artisans and tells its own unique story.

"These are all very valuable, handmade and design-oriented products. We want to prove that despite the fact that refugees are living in these poor conditions, they have the same skills and talents as everyone else. And if you give them the opportunity, they create amazing things."

Insights

  • MADE51 focuses on the individual skills of the refugees, shows potentials and promotes talents.
  • Long-term partnerships and continuous orders are important in order to offer refugees a long-term perspective.
  • As a retailer you can support with expertise, order the collections and inspire your customers with them.

Expert info

In 2003, designer Mark Kwami founded the brand "made in africa collection" - a contemporary, design-oriented collection of furniture and home accessories made in Africa, with currently two franchise branches in Berlin and Hamburg. With his initiative "Things for Good", launched in 2014, he developed and marketed the O-Cube, an innovative tool to demonstrate the use of condoms for women. He has been a professor of design at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in Dessau since 2015. And since 2016, he has been responsible for the areas of design and product development as well as the expansion of new capacities at MADE51, a brand founded by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). He joins Ambiente since 2018 – looking for long-term collaborations with brands and designers.