The Malaika Collective, a new brand aimed at creating a multicultural home for Black and Brown people from all parts of the African diaspora and their friends and allies alike is raising funds to help bring its first collections to market.
Malaika Collective pays homage both to the traditional homelands where the diaspora finds its origins, as well as the of the new countries and fresh beginnings that promise so much for the future. Currently, The crowdfunding campaign on iFundWomen to help it achieve that.
“The Malaika Collective is a culmination of a five-year venture of innovative storytelling through fashion, media, and education,” commented founder Rita Bunatal. “I found inspiration and empowerment through my Ghanaian and Kenyan heritage. We have seen success with our early, sold-out, t-shirts. And now we look forward to taking things to the next level and having a positive impact on fashion and the world.”
Beyond simply an apparel effort, The Malaika Collective has much larger plans that are emerging to help empower the community. A key part of this is scheduled for the Summer 2022, when The Malaika Collective will launch its first flagship location in Brooklyn. This space will double as a retail store, as well as being an immersive, membership-based innovation hub for Black creators and entrepreneurs.
Planned highlights of the sure-to-be exciting location will include interactive educational walls, a kitchen that prepares Afro-fusion inspired dishes, and a co-working + co-creation space along with a separate event space to host events celebrating the heart, culture and traditions of both Brooklyn and the pan-African diaspora. The co-creation space will be available to the members of The Malaika Collective community.
A number of different perks are available depending on donation size related to the iFundWomen campaign. The iFundWomen Malaika Collective page also goes into great detail about recent activities from the collective and its recent challenges faced, including the last year in the face of Covid-19.
