It took a Rinse radio event in Abidjan in July 2021 for Yannick Do and Faycal Lazraq, two game changers of the African party scene of the last decade, to meet for the first time. French-Togolese Do was the man behind the cult 97% Africa parties in Paris in the early 2010s. With hindsight, one realises that the event contained many of the same essential ingredients (the propulsive beats, the laid-back atmosphere, the gathering of stylish people of various origins) that have made the La Sunday party in Abidjan such a cultural phenomenon since its launch in 2018 by a group of five visionaries including Lazraq.

So, when these two powerhouses came together last year, they clicked instantly. "We're pretty much alike – we’re pragmatic, but we're also willing to try new things,” says Do. At the time, he had just left a creative producer job at Nike, and Lazraq, a French-Moroccan, was mulling opening a Paris concept store that would attract the African creative community. "The kind of people I saw in Abidjan," he says. They decided to collaborate and opted for a more cautious e-commerce route.

After hitting on a modern visual tone of the website, they went about curating limited edition pieces from contemporary African brands that they admired and within just a few weeks, Dola, an online platform of fashion, beauty, books and objects has gone live. The e-store sits alongside a journal telling cross-cultural stories of “our Africa – young, creative and connected.”

Essential pieces on offer include casual cotton trousers by Olooh, statement newspaper printed jackets by Soherity, Bogolan zippered vests by Ubeku and patchwork shirts by Wafflesncream plus Shea body and hair oil by Comoé and candles by Bougie Now. These and other sought-after brands sit alongside the Dola in-house line of eco-responsible, upcycled garments. The first Dola collab is a collection of colourful tie-and-dye t-shirts with Ubeku, sourced at flea markets in Ghana, and sporting the names of Abidjan's main districts. It was celebrated at Abidjan’s Dozo store, the epicentre of the city's cool scene.

But Dola is more than just an ecommerce project, it’s a reflection of the multitasking nature of Do and Lazraq. They also act like an agency, working on events and connecting people, as well as the Dola Foundation to help young African creatives. Their next projects, besides scouting new designers in English-speaking African countries, include the organisation of an event uniting Ivorian and Ghanaian surfers.