Header: “Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement” by Localworks (“Architectural Design of the Year”), photo by Mutua Matheka
The Africa International Design Awards (AIDA Awards), the new programme celebrating African designers from 3C Awards Group, has recently announced the winners of the inaugural edition. The projects were selected by a powerhouse jury of 41 distinguished members representing 18 nationalities, all of whom are leading designers, architects, cultural thinkers, creatives and educators from Africa and the diaspora.
A very well-received first edition
The response to the first-ever AIDA Awards was better than expected for a new programme, with the awards having received over 300 submissions from 40 countries, including 24 nations across the African continent (from Tanzania to Morocco and from Zambia to Benin). If anything, this shows the depth, diversity and drive of the African design community today.
“When launching the first edition of the AIDA Awards, we hoped to reveal the extraordinary richness of design rooted in African experience… and what we received surpassed every expectation.”
Astrid Hébert, Founder of the AIDA Awards
An exceptional group of juries
Submissions were reviewed and judged based on four main categories: Spatial Design, Product Design, Fashion Design and Communication Design. The esteemed juries assessed each entry not only on aesthetic and technical merit but also on cultural resonance, sustainability, social impact and innovation.
With Bibi Seck (founder of Birsel + Seck) as Head of Jury, the panel included voices such as Coline-Lee Toumson (Cultural & Artistic Affairs Advisor of the Republic of Benin), Lani Adeoye (founder and designer of Studio Lani), Selly Raby Kane (founder and artistic lead of SRK), Jomo Tariku (a designer from Jomo Furniture, LLC), Titi Ogufere (the CEO of Africa Design Network), Roberta Annan (founder of African Fashion Foundation), Saki Mafundikwa (founder and director of Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts), Issa Diabaté (Managing Director of Koffi & Diabaté Group), Juliet Kavishe (Executive Board Member at the Pan Afrikan Design Institute) and many others.
Winners by category
Spatial Design
In the Spatial Design category, the “Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement“ (Localworks) received the coveted “Architectural Design of the Year” award. This performing arts centre was recognised both for serving over 270,000 South Sudanese refugees in the Yumbe District of Uganda and for being a landmark in low-carbon humanitarian architecture. “Pearl Jam“ (Nicole Moyo), on the other hand, received the “Architectural Designer of the Year” award, as it is an exceptional sculpture in the Miami Design District that references Ndebele beading traditions. The “Emerging Architect of the Year” award was given to Africa Design School’s student François Abatan (who worked alongside Sanny Axelle and Carol Gnimadi) for his work in “OGOUN – Goddess of Iron and Courage”, a contemporary reinterpretation of a Vodoun temple in Benin.
Photo credit: Mutua Matheka
Photo credit: Courtesy of Nicole Moyo
Photo credit: Courtesy of Africa Design School
Product Design
In Product Design, “Stitched, a story of our home” (Tracy Lynch and Cebo Mvubu, in collaboration with the Keiskamma Arts Trust) earned “Product Design of the Year”. It is a wallpaper, fabric and homeware collection based on the trust’s iconic hand-stitched embroidery, with visuals rooted in the coastal village of Hamburg, South Africa. Terry Aidoo received “Product Designer of the Year” for the “Kabila Collection“, which presents contemporary furniture inspired by the aesthetics of African home courtyards. The “Emerging Product Designer of the Year” award went to Didier Stéphane Kingnide Gnonlonfoun of the Beijing Institute of Technology for “Sport Can“, an innovative recycling device that converts plastic waste into footballs.
Photo credit: Creg Cox, Justin Patrick
Photo credit: Creg Cox, Justin Patrick
Photo credit: Matteo Ercole
Photo credit: Matteo Ercole
Photo credit: Stéphane Gnonlonfoun
Fashion Design
In Fashion Design, “The Rowe“ (World Shoe, Inc.) was named “Fashion Design of the Year“, as it is a shoe produced with biodegradable EVA foam technology at a pioneering factory in Akosombo, Ghana. Ghizlaine Elmanjra received the “Fashion Designer of the Year” award for “The Baazz Sneaker”, a luxury fashion brand based on openness in its production process and on African craft traditions.
Photo credit: Asia Margo
Photo credit: Courtesy of Ghizlaine Elmanjra
Communication Design
In Communication Design, the “UE au Sénégal – Baie de Hann” (Ag Partners Publicis Africa Group and Tampidaro, commissioned by the European Union) was awarded the “Communication Design of the Year” award for the work of local urban painter Tampidaro, which boldly addresses the ecological crisis of Hann Bay in Dakar. Tshepo Masilo earned the “Communication Designer of the Year” award for the “BIC I Love Africa Pocket Lighter Series”, which transforms the famous object into a cultural storytelling platform. The “Emerging Communication Designer of the Year” was given to Annabelle Armstrong from the Greenside Design Center for “Becoming a Beacon”, an editorial design project recounting Nelson Mandela’s life through the structural narrative of a lighthouse.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Ag Partners Publicis Africa Group
Photo credit: Tshepo Masilo
Photo credit: Courtesy of Greenside Design Center
A letter from Bibi Seck
“When I was invited to serve as Jury President for the first edition of the African International Design Awards, I realised I had quietly crossed a threshold — stepping, perhaps, into the circle of elders. My grandson calls me Papi Bibi, while many young designers across the continent now call me BibiBaba. It is both tender and telling!
As I write these lines, I think of my brothers in creation (Laduma, Christian Benimana, Issa Diabaté, Naeem Bijivi) and so many others who are shaping what can only be called a “creative revolution” across Africa. Every participant in this competition left a mark. What emerges is clear: our community of designers is not only growing, it is maturing… becoming sharper, more inventive, more rooted. Again and again, we witness intelligent responses to our realities, born from within. We see architects committed to imagining the spaces where we will live and work, creating spaces that are healthy, contextual and grounded in materials and knowledge inherited from our ancestors. And through AIDA, we glimpse the next generation... those we will not only celebrate but also actively seek, support and walk alongside.”
The AIDA Awards are supported by a growing network of jury members, sponsors, partners and supporters who are working to give African design greater visibility internationally. At the heart of the initiative stands the Africa Design School, together with L’École de Design Nantes Atlantique and the African Fashion Foundation (AFF). The awards ceremony and conferences will take place in Cotonou, Benin, at the end of July 2026.
