Profile
The African Toyshop was founded by Greg Morgan a human Rights Consultant whose vision was to create, in his home country of South Africa, a sustainable outlet for the endeavours of the many highly skilled and creatively gifted toymakers and crafters he came across during his work. The impetus for this was a desire to make an impact on the lives of people living in poverty, in a way that relied on their truly impressive creativity and skills.

The result of Greg’s vision led to the opening of The African Toyshop, which opened on 28 May 2005 at 44 Stanley Avenue, Johannesburg. It is perhaps the first shop of its kind in the world. It stocks and sells only toys that have been hand made in Africa (including South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho, Madagascar, Namibia, Tanzania and Uganda, with Angolan and Ghanaian toys expected soon). It was set up to expose toy makers to a broader public both in South Africa and overseas.

The Mission and Vision of African Toyshop is to implement a very strong development component to the shop, and its main objective is to expose toy makers from around Africa to a broader public and to ensure they are able to make a living and hopefully prosper. In fact, one of their toy makers has already earned enough money out of the shop to build himself and his family a new house (although he has yet to complete it). The organization has plans to secure funds for toy makers to build workshops and buy basic tools and generators to increase their production. There is also an educational aspect each toy has a tag mentioning where it is from as well as a few facts about the country.

The African Toyshop currently wholesales toys to shops in the UK, USA, Singapore and Norway.

The African Toyshop believes it is important to trade fairly whether you are buying or selling toys.

The Toyshop plans to develop into a recognisable brand that stands for all the principles of Fair Trade, earning the kind of worldwide interest that will allow The African Toyshop to expand both within South Africa and beyond, and impact on the lives of an increasing number of creative, talented Africans.


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