Nigeria Joins Africa’s Drive For Fair Share Of Global Fashion Industry

The Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy (FMACTCE) has inaugurated a working committee for the Confederation of African Fashion (CAF), also known as Afroliganza.

The committee is meant to develop a comprehensive framework for building Nigeria’s fashion industry, focusing on talent development, infrastructure, value chain, funding and marketing access. It also aims to create a unified platform for African countries to develop and implement policies that will propel the continent’s fashion industry to new heights.

At the committee’s unveiling in Abuja, the founder of Afroliganza, Dr Lai Labode, said that CAF aims to increase Africa’s share in the global fashion industry from 1.2% ($30 billion) to $500 billion. He said Nigeria must work closely with other African countries, research institutions and industry stakeholders to develop and implement effective policies and protocols.

The confederation is also scheduled to host ‘Fashion Extravaganza’, a continental competition where African countries can compete and showcase their creativity, in 2026 in Abuja and Cairo, the capital cities of Nigeria and Egypt.

“The establishment of CAF is expected to significantly impact the continent’s fashion industry, creating new opportunities for designers, artisans and entrepreneurs. It is also expected to drive industrialisation and raw material processing of cotton, leather, wood, metal, among other local materials that will propel the entire value-chain of the fashion industry, thereby creating jobs and foreign earnings.”

Meantime, the ministry has called on private and public stakeholders to increase investment in Nigeria’s creative sector.