About

OXOSI Explained in Questions & Answers

What is OXOSI?

OXOSI is an artisans club and a creative distribution channel for fashion brands that directly benefit the African continent.

In Detail: OXOSI is an artisans club, a creative distribution channel for the original pan-African fashion brands, and a proud contributor to the worldwide initiative, Made In Africa. BO (a creative company) has applied a core creative concept to a state of the art distribution system. The system has been established on three principles that include distribution (creative e-commerce and editorial channel), education (for sourcing and mass production), and location (for stock storage and showcase). OXOSI is different in a sense that being labeled an online store is beyond an understatement. OXOSI is an innovative tool that uses visual creativity, high fashion, artistic talent, and e-commerce technology to actively change the world. We believe that the current distribution channels for artisans are inefficient, stale, misrepresenting, brand insensitive, culturally insensitive, technically unstable, and internationally unfriendly. OXOSI is disrupting these traditional channels by providing artisans with a profitable platform, creative marketing, access to distribution, and brand development on a worldwide basis.

What is the problem?

The depths of pan-African artistry, creativity, and business potential are poorly represented in the digital realm. With higher than ever before emphasis on digital representations globally; this is detrimental to the overall development and independence of the pan-African business and economy.

What is the solution?

BASE Official’s (BO, a creative company) creation of innovative entities like OXOSI.

[ARTISANS] How does my brand directly benefit Africa?

We form a pan-African connection by gauging the designer’s background/origin (human capital flight), brand narrative, and the sourcing channels of choice.

In Detail: A pan-African entity holds a quality that inspires positive development in Africa. In the case of OXOSI, pan-African brands include designers, boutiques, and other establishments that support the idea of reversed human capital flight, also known as “brain gain” (the opposite of “brain drain”). This concept is the foundation of BO’s goodwill arm, HEAD Act. The HEAD Act builds on the “brain gain” philosophy that by reversing the large-scale emigration of a large group of individuals with technical skills or knowledge into the area in need of development, the focus area will rise to excellency in an industry. With even more specification, we strongly support and build off the fact that creativity is a form of intelligence, by connecting the talented with a goodwill initiative, we can expect the nation of focus to reap the benefits of creative brain gain. If the talented actively connects with Africa, Africa will benefit.

[ARTISANS] What are the benefits of OXOSI as a distribution channel?

Benefits of a global creative/ad company, global business network, sourcing education and resources, solid and professional e-commerce framework, curated distribution channel, beautiful editorial media for promotion, authentic brand representation.

In Detail: BO edge - OXOSI is a BASE Official company and project. BO uses the creative applications (campaigns, design, brand development, core web development, creative media marketing, public relations, business development) that elevate our major clients to elevate your fashion brand.

Global business network - OXOSI artisans will benefit off the global networks of BO. Representation of our creative work with wholesale and retail catalysts spans in both global non-profits and for-profit entities. In the editorial front-end, representation of our visual work in popular culture is everywhere from the music industry (Kanye West, Drake, Keri Hilson, Common, Jill Scott) and luxury (Thompson Hotels) to multi-billion dollar establishments (RLJ Companies, Bob Johnson).

Sourcing education and resources for the artisan - OXOSI’s strategic partnership with foreign trade unions and fair trade organizations make it possible for us to provide the adequate information and education for any artisan looking to expand their brand into mass production and made in Africa.

Solid e-commerce framework - OXOSI.com has been built with a state of the art e-commerce framework and the most solid components to date: beautiful presentation layers (easy to use and navigate interfaces), administrator/seller control panels (organized back-end record keeping and management), security (TLS - Transport Layer Security 1.2 and SSL -Secure Sockets Layer 3.0), tax control (full control of product specific tax, tax logic, tax rates, and tax bands), professional shipping systems (a comprehensive and international shipping system is ready for full utility), payment gateways (a universal payment framework with the options to utilize the world’s most popular gateways, PayPal Standard, PayPal Website Payments Pro, Authorize.net 2.0, Bluepay, ChronoPay, eWay, Google, Checkout, iDeal, LinkPoint, Paystation, and Sagepay), and all professional e-commerce standards (all common components associated with professional e-commerce/shopping cart systems).

Curated distribution channel - Our digital and physical platforms are carefully curated, representing only the best brands that will effectively set high industry standards and reach a global audience.

Beautiful editorial media - OXOSI uses the BO strength in creative design and production to fuel it’s editorial sections. Through a unique stage in the fashion industry, we are able to strategically market the work and associations of our artisans in the form of entertainment media (still, motion, live, and copy). Frequently being able to produce high quality entertainment content (ie: fashion films) will add another edge and audience to the brands represented by OXOSI.

An authentic African brand - OXOSI proudly represents a generally under-represented culture in the fashion industry. Each member of our very diverse team brings a different and authentic cultural idea chain to the creative hub that is OXOSI. Cultural authenticity is a highly emphasized component of the OXOSI brand as we do our best to bring to the world what we coined as the “beautiful truth” of Africa.

[ARTISANS] How will OXOSI insure that I am not boxed-in and labeled as simply an “African designer”?

OXOSI constantly and creatively emphasizes the universality of our designer works; but we do this from an African foundation.

In Detail: Giorgio Armani is a proud Italian brand and in return benefits the Italian fashion industry. Zara is another European brand that directly benefits Spain (where 60% of it’s production is sourced in Spain, 30% in other European nations, and only 10% outside of Europe). Uniqlo is a proud Japanese brand that’s “made for all” but directly benefits Japan’s economy. We can go on. OXOSI is a proud African brand that houses designers who create universal fashions. It is only by the designer’s background/origin (human capital flight), brand narrative, and the sourcing channels of choice that we can properly gauge and determine the level of benefit the designer offers to the African continent.

OXOSI is NOT simply an online store that sells African fashion (traditional fabrics and such). OXOSI will sell universal fashion and styles (suites, jeans, accessories, shoes, bags, IN ADDITION to traditional fabrics styled in modern fashions) but only on an established basis that they meet universal standards and directly benefit the development of Africa as a continental brand.

[ARTISANS] Where do your customers come from?

Our marketplace is truly global with traffic and customers coming primarily from all over the world; North America, Africa, Western Europe, and the Middle East. Furthermore, OXOSI can handle transactions in all currencies represented by PAYPAL, VISA, MASTERCARD, and AMERICAN EXPRESS.