The Confederation of African Fashion (CAFA) is targeting the growth of Africa’s fashion economy from an estimated $30 billion to $500 billion, with plans to unveil its roadmap at the 2026 Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX WKND) in Lagos.
The organisation will mark its first anniversary on November 5th with the unveiling of a joint stand with the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts, formerly the National Arts Theatre. CAFA President, Aare (Prof.) Lai Labode, said the organisation was working with African governments to harmonise policies on sourcing, production, trade and intellectual property to ensure that more value was retained by African businesses and communities.
CAFA’s initiative, known as Afroliganza, seeks to build a structured, values-driven fashion economy rooted in African heritage, led by African institutions and positioned for global impact. The organisation’s programmes are focused on promoting the local processing of African raw materials into finished fashion products, rather than exporting them in unprocessed forms, with the goal of moving African fashion beyond creativity and cultural expression towards a structured industrial economy capable of generating wealth, creating employment and strengthening the continent’s participation in international trade.
Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said investment in fashion could generate millions of jobs, particularly for women and young people, while strengthening local manufacturing and expanding the economic contributions of the creative sector. Africa’s fashion and textile market, valued between $30 billion and $65 billion according to the African Development Bank, remains largely untapped, with much value lost to imports and limited local processing.
As part of its industrial development strategy, CAFA is introducing the “Own What We Create” intellectual property campaign, alongside the CAFA Certified Seal and CAFA Heritage Mark to promote quality standards and authenticity. The organisation is also establishing African Global Fashion Houses in international markets, with plans for investment platforms for funding, digital trade portals for selling, trusts to protect artisans, manufacturing centres across the continent and a support network for young designers.
CAFA is calling on the African Union to adopt the African Fashion Industry Growth Charter and urging governments across the continent to sign the Games Register and establish national teams, with the African Global Fashion Games scheduled to debut in Nigeria in 2028. The challenge now is to convert the roadmap into concrete investments and policies that retain value in Africa, turning the continent’s fashion and textile potential into a $500 billion economy.
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