Fashion forward thinking

The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly made a big negative impact on the global fashion industry this year, but the sector is still an important one across the African continent from an economic development, job creation and skills development perspective. Fashion remains big business in Africa. According to data from Euromonitor International, the combined clothing and footwear market in sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to be worth US$ 31 billion. Importantly, the fashion industry is a women centric sector, providing economic development and job opportunities across the entire value chain, beginning with the smallholder farmers producing the raw materials for textile production, through to the fashion designers who light up the world’s runways with the designs we all go on to wear. As the African Development Bank says in its Fashionomics: Investing in the Creative Industries report, “At each step of the value chain, more value is added and additional jobs are created.” So this week, at Lionesses of Africa we will be recognizing the thousands of talented and hard working women entrepreneurs in Africa who are building great businesses and brands, and creating thousands of much needed jobs in the fashion sector.