This will launch in collaboration with Grade Africa founder, Zaid Osman. The new platform will see Osman and Chivas provide up-and-coming fashion designers with the tools and support needed to produce a nine-piece capsule collection that will be sold via ‘drops’ with exclusive retail partners.
The production of the collection aims to provide local African communities with employment opportunities, empowering newly appointed apprentices to join forces with Chivas and Grade Africa. Collectively they will blend their skills and talents, enabling them to source and manufacture the collection sustainably. Proceeds from the sales of the collection will be given to the apprentices and donated to the Grade Africa Foundation, whose mission is to eliminate extreme poverty and bring unique opportunities back home to Africa.
Nick Blacknell, global marketing director at Chivas, said, “We are thrilled to be back for the seventh year of the Chivas Venture, with an updated programme that will see us championing and supporting grassroots action in local communities around the world. We are incredibly excited to launch the new format in South Africa with Zaid Osman, a leader in creative culture who has hustled for success. The new format continues to reflect the Chivas DNA by supporting and championing nu-wave entrepreneurs, who work tirelessly to elevate themselves and the communities that surround them.”
Osman founded Grade Africa in 2018 with the hope of bringing African talent to the table and showcasing African pride in the fashion industry. “I only want to be a part of meaningful things and when the Chivas Venture team reached out to me, it was a no brainer as this is exactly what we as Grade Africa stand for – to empower and upskill local creatives,” he said.
To date, the Chivas Venture has given away $6m in no-strings funding to 142 social entrepreneurs, who have positively impacted over 3.3m lives in more than 65 countries. This includes providing 34m litres of safe drinking water to communities, recycling 1,300 tonnes of waste, helping over 2,500 farmers’ families out of poverty and funding over 75,000 days of education for women and girls.
To find out more about the Chivas Venture, go here.
