FG Urged to Incentivise Nigeria’s Fashion Industry to Benefit from $10bn Global Market

Oluchi Chibuzor

Stakeholders in the Nigerian fashion industry have called on the federal government to consider supporting the country’s fashion industry and making it attractive so as to benefit from the $10 billion global fashion market.

This was as they equally urged government to understand the dynamics of the market through research analysis in order to attract more investment into the entire value chain.

Chairman, African Fashion Week Nigeria (AFWN) 2024, Lai Labode who disclosed this in an interview with THISDAY, said Nigeria has the largest market size currently on the African continent with about 1.2 per cent of the global market share of $2.5 trillion.

According to him, “When we are talking about $10 billion, we’re just scratching it. The federal government needs to understand the size of the global industry and where Nigeria can be. So you’re going to be seeing a public-private partnership.

“We must put money into it if we want to capture a chunk of the market. I’m happy that a lot more platforms are joining us now to push money. We’re going to be at the forefront of that because a whole lot of foreign direct investment (FDI) is coming into Nigeria. Let us put money into what we can create that can empower people sustainably. And fashion is surely one of them.”

He maintained that for the industry to thrive, the private sector must take the lead in driving the investment conservation around the industry.

“So the private sector has a lot to do with this right now, not just the government. But I can tell you that there’s a big plan going on in partnership with the African fashion platform itself. And you will see something in another six to 12 months on how we think that a lot of things can be done right here in Africa. We’re making investments in that area to ensure that we have a plan that we can partner with the government and make those things happen.

“A Nigerian Fashion and African Fashion Fund is coming. It’s part of what we’re working on and we are going to bring some big investments. We are creating platforms where if you want the best of Africa, that’s where you come. And it’s going to be a truly global platform. So when you hear the likes of Louis Vuitton, the Gucci’s of this world, a lot of money has gone behind it. And if you want it big for Africa, we must put money behind it,” he maintained.

He underscored the need to ensure that necessary laws, regulations and right resources are in place.

“That’s why what we did was to commission the research first, understand the dynamics end-to-end. How much money is actually needed? Aside from money, what else is needed? Are there regulations that are needed? Are there new laws that need to be put in place?

“So there’s quite a bit of that exactly going on. We are very ambitious, we want to start, finish and be able to sustain the kind of things that we’re bringing. Africa has so much potential; and it’s time that we bring that potential home because Africa cannot continue to be a potential,” he noted.

For her part, the Founder, AFWN, Ronke Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi, stressed the need for the government to help protect the patent rights of the indigenous operators.

She maintained the need for partnership and mentoring of local players in the industry before pushing them to international audiences.

“And that is why we are partnering with banks who understand business and finance that will not just give them the funding but would also hold their hands to ensure that they get to the level where they want to get to. At Africa Fashion Week Nigeria, what we want to start is an incubator where we can mentor these young brands before we now push them out or accelerate them to the global platforms,” she stated.

The AFWN founder urged Nigeria as a country to leverage its heritage fabric as a sustainable means of living as demand for Adire is becoming so popular across the world.

For this, she urged the government to help in securing and protecting indigenous brands like Adire from being taken by international organisational and foreign countries.

According to her,  “The demand now for our indigenous handmade Adire fabrics is providing a lot of work, a lot of income for women and youths, creating businesses where we thought there was no business. Because if you look at the artisans, the dye suppliers, the fabric suppliers, the textile designers, all of them now are making money.”