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Bazaarna
Led by the Artists & Laborers Working Group
Innovation of Industry, Reduced Inequalities, Sustainable Communities, and Partnerships for Development.
Project Background
In Lebanon, the collective cultural identity and its role in the country’s sociopolitical landscape have been both significant and well-documented. This is why the fragmentation of this creative community has had negative repercussions at both national and regional levels. The idea of consolidating these individuals into a single, accessible platform, a search engine where anyone could find their business details, emerged as a response to this challenge.
Given that the working group is dedicated to integrating makers with impact-driven enterprises and reinstating their role at a national scale, the project had undergone a strategic transformation. This evolution led to the creation of Bazaarna, a refined, business-driven platform designed to empower Lebanon’s creative economy and lead by example in innovation within the Creative and Cultural Industries worldwide.
The Lebanese artisanal market, whose total addressable size is valued at $2 billion in 2024, faces significant challenges in visibility, accessibility, and affordability. Local artisans struggle to make sales, maintain sufficient funds for their businesses, leverage technology, and grow their market share... Meanwhile, buyers encounter e-commerce platforms that lack personalization, story, and emotional connection to the artisans and their craft, further deepening difficulties in discoverability and alienation in this vital market segment.
Project Description
Bazaarna is a 3D souk that connects global buyers to local artisans’ in an immersive marketplace that mirrors the interactivity of real souks!
It brings Arabic artisanal heritage into the digital economy, but by recreating the atmosphere of a traditional marketplace: users wander through virtual alleys inspired by cities such as Tripoli, Cairo, and Marrakech, meet artisans, explore their craft, and negotiate prices through a chatbot that simulates real life interactions. The platform merges immersive technology with cultural nuance to increase visibility for artisans who have been excluded from modern markets. It integrates disciplines ranging from generative AI and UX design to heritage tourism, communication, data analytics, capacity building, and supply chain systems. Bazaarna serves as a cultural and economic interface where global buyers can engage with craft in ways grounded in story, presence, and locality.
Think of it as Amazon for artisans blended with the immersiveness of your favorite online game.
The Program
- Pre-Bazaarna
- FORSA III Incubation [Nucleus Venture]
- SPARK Incubation [Lebanese American University Innovation Center]
1. Pre-Bazaarna
Bazaarna, originally conceived as the “Artists’ Search Engine” in 2019, was developed by the founding members of the Artists & Laborers working group at Studio Madane. The project aimed to bridge the divides within Lebanon’s community of artists, artisans, creatives, and makers, aligning closely with the working group’s broader mission. Initially, the project lacked a business model.
The transformation from an NGO-esque search engine transformed to the “Lebanese Artisanal Bazaar” in 2023 once the project was revisited. It was a simple application that mimics a lot of the existing solutions, which means that it won’t necessarily garner the visibility and economic viability that the working group was ambitioning.
2. FORSA III Incubation
Bazaarna came to be after being a top 15 winner within Nucleus Venture's incubation program. After being selected from a pool of 100+ startup applicants, the “Lebanese Artisanal Lab” conducted a year-long business development incubation program. Spanning from 2023 to 2024, the program provided over 85 hours of business training, mentorship clinics, and more than 25 assignments designed for comprehensive startup development.
After graduating the program and winning a limited financial reward, Bazaarna’s new came to fruition. Bazaarna adopted the creative technology approach and became confident in positioning itself as a _
A team composed of a strategist, web developer, 3D specialist, and designer from Germany, the U.A.E., Sudan, and Lebanon respectively, directed by Studio Madane’s team create Bazaarna’s first working prototype.
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Bazaarna earned a financial reward after winning top 10 out of 90+ startup applications at the Lebanese American University’s SPARK incubation program, part of the Innovation Center. After a five-month intensive business development incubator, and with the support of an in-house business mentor, Bazaarna managed to upgrade its working prototype to a go-to-market MVP.
After winning the limited financial reward, it composed a team of a 3d & web developer, designer, and logistics expert from Tunis, Lebanon, and Libya respectively, directed by Studio Madane’s team to prepare the upgraded platform for the integration of sellers.
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