Initiative· Fashion
Fashionomics Africa: the African Development Bank's bet on fashion designers
The African Development Bank runs Fashionomics Africa to grow the continent's share of the global fashion industry, with masterclasses, a digital marketplace and competitions for designers.
- Backer
- African Development Bank (Fashionomics Africa)
- Offers
- PrizesTrainingMarket access
- Who it's for
- African fashion designers and small fashion businesses
Fashionomics Africa is an initiative of the African Development Bank (AfDB). Its goal is to increase Africa's share of the global textile and fashion value chain, and it does that by backing the designers and small businesses who make up the industry.
What it offers designers
Over the years Fashionomics Africa has offered:
- a digital marketplace to connect African designers with buyers
- masterclasses where designers share and learn from each other
- webinars and online training, which grew during the pandemic
- competitions focused on sustainable and circular fashion, with cash prizes, mentoring and branding support
The programme reached its fourth iteration in 2025.
Why it matters
Development banks rarely work directly with creatives. Fashionomics treats fashion as a serious economic sector, which opens doors to finance and policy support that individual designers wouldn't reach on their own.
Your next step
If you're a designer, follow Fashionomics Africa and the AfDB's announcements for the next competition. Start documenting how you source materials and reduce waste now, because sustainable and circular practice has been central to its recent calls.
Sources
- #fashion
- #designers
- #sustainability
Your story could be next.
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