Representatives of Salone del Mobile.Milano attended Design Week Lagos on Thursday, Oct. 22, as the Italian organizer cited rising furniture exports to Nigeria and opportunities to connect local talent with manufacturing expertise. Salone described the visit as its Nigerian debut. The festival runs Oct. 18-25, and the National Theatre’s event listing places its programming and a global press conference at the venue on Oct. 22.
Salone said Italian furniture exports to Nigeria reached €41.6 million in 2025, up 27% from 2024, making Nigeria the fourth-largest African market for those exports. It also reported €448.4 million in Italian furniture exports to Africa, a 13.1% increase.
FederlegnoArredo, Italy’s wood and furnishing industry federation, reported separately that the furniture macrosystem exported €14.2 billion in 2025, down 0.8%. Its broader wood-and-furnishing supply chain shipped more than €600 million to Africa, up 13.8%, and exports to Nigeria in that category grew 30.3%. The federation’s Nigeria figure covers a wider range of goods, so the growth rates describe different product scopes.
Design Week Lagos used “Making a New Africa” as its 2026 theme and “From Material to Market: Designing for Scale” as its subtheme. The festival says selected projects may move toward limited production. Salone said the event could help Italian firms understand Nigerian preferences and give Nigerian creative professionals exposure to international manufacturing expertise.
“The competitiveness of design companies depends on their ability to interpret different ways of living, cultures, and needs,” Marco Sabetta, general manager of Salone del Mobile.Milano, said.
BusinessDay reported that limited access to financing and technical expertise may give established foreign suppliers an advantage as demand rises.
Salone’s 65th edition is scheduled for April 13-18, 2027, at Fiera Milano in Rho.
