The world’s biggest collection of African art outside Africa is owned by fast-food chain Nando’s, who are now investing in South African design.
“The soul of our brand is really a South African soul”, says Nando’s co-founder Robbie Brozin, and it’s a proud one at that.
For the last 14 years the fast-food restaurant has been promoting South African art through in their international branches and has amassed quite a collection of original pieces. Their investment in South African creativity is currently going through a substantial scale-up, with the announcement at Design Indaba Conference 2015 of the Nando’s Heartfelt Celebration of South African Design.
“Nandos is opening around 80 restaurants around the world and we’re hoping to get around 2.5 to 5 per cent of the tables and chairs that they use internationally will come out of SA,” says Brozin.
Brozin explains that, for Nando’s, the most important motivator is making an impact on people’s lives. The opportunity that Nando’s is offering South African designers is not about the size or the speed, it is about making a real difference to their lives and their businesses.
“We think it is a really magnificent initiative because we think that South African designers can really showcase themselves in a magnificent way and we can provide a global platform for them.”
The Nando’s design collection is curated by Tracey Lynch. See video
Via Design Indaba weekly
