Fashion is big business in Africa. Today, the region’s apparel and footwear market is worth an estimated US $31 billion. From the cultivation of raw materials to finished products, millions of jobs exist along this fast-growing value chain. Rising interest in African culture on the continent and in the diaspora coupled with a growing, mobile-first middle class has driven a rise in interest in Africa-inspired design and locally-produced goods across many countries.
As #MadeinAfrica makes a bigger statement, I shared a list of African designers shaping the trends on catwalks from Abidjan to Kinshasa for Botho Emerging Markets Group, where I’m Esther Ocloo Fellow.
