With events in Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Côte d’Ivoire, Africa Sourcing and Fashion Week has established itself as one of the leading trade fairs for the textiles, fashion, home decor, and technology industries in Africa and abroad. Founded by Skander Negasi in 2014, the organisation introduced its first exhibition in Addis Ababa in 2015 and has grown strong in fulfilling its mission to develop the continent into a global manufacturing hub.

ASFW not only connects African designers and manufacturers with buyers and boutiques from around the world, but it also drives regional trade between businesses based on the continent. Offering a combination of activities, the Ethiopia edition – which is the biggest of the fairs – returns for its eighth year in the country. The event will highlight regional trade and local supply value chains and host a fashion show featuring a yet-to-be-announced group of thirty regional designers.

AMAKA spoke to Skander Negasi, about this year's trade fair and what the future looks like for Africa’s burgeoning textile and manufacturing sector.  

Your focus this year includes topics on regional integration in trade, local supply value chain, logistics, and finance. Could you tell us more about this and what visitors can expect from Africa Sourcing and Fashion Week 2022?

At the ASFW show, we promote the entire textile and fashion value chain within Africa. We will have African garment manufacturers and designers, and we expect international buyers and brands, boutiques and wholesalers to attend as well. In addition to the designers, we will also have technology companies and fabric manufacturers from outside Africa exhibiting at the show.

 Due to challenges faced by Western and Chinese companies like travel restrictions [caused by the pandemic], our recent shows [and] during the pandemic, saw fewer companies from those regions. However, as things continue to normalise this year, we expect the highest international participation at the upcoming show in November.

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As a trade show, what sort of initiatives do you have in place to support young and emerging designers and fashion brands?

We support young designers with our Walk for Business programme where designs are showcased via a fashion show event but also at the main exhibition space. We also work with international donors to provide access for African designers who cannot afford the costs of exhibiting.

Who are some of the regional designers taking part in the Walk For Business showcase?

We have about 30 designers from East and West Africa taking part in the show. They design clothing, bags, shoes and accessories. We can’t reveal their names yet but all participants will be announced a month before the show.

ASFW is Africa's biggest show not only for manufacturers but also for fashion designers. While other events focus on the catwalk shows only, we make sure that our designers also benefit from business opportunities through the exhibition.  

What key fashion, textile and technology trends do you predict will come up this season?

We have realised that [at the moment] African-inspired designs and patterns have a big demand overseas. As a result, a significant amount of international buyers are visiting ASFW to explore the market and meet with African designers. On the other hand, African designers are looking for new technology in dyeing and pattern systems. The setting up of online businesses is something that’s becoming more important for African designers to reach foreign markets. Lastly, we see that African designers are more interested in selling within Africa and closer to home. Before, it was trendy to sell in Europe or the USA. 

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What role does sustainability play within the trade show and the larger textile industry?

ASFW is a partner of the UN Sustainable Development Goal Initiative. We promote SDG at our show and during the conference. This year we have five prominent German fashion influencers who will come to the show to discuss sustainability.

How would you describe the state of the African textile and fashion manufacturing industry right now?

The industry is diverse. There’s countries like Mauritius, Madagascar, Kenya and Ethiopia that are doing well and are leading in domestic business and export. Other places like Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Ghana and Nigeria are showing potential. Elsewhere, francophone West African countries are specialising in the cotton industry.

What’s your long-term vision for ASFW?

We are working hard in getting more visibility in Europe, USA and Asia so that we can get more brands from those regions coming to Addis Ababa to meet with African exhibitors. We aim to increase business in Africa which will ultimately increase employment. In the last eight years, ASFW has brought over 50 000 new jobs in the textile and fashion industry within the region. We hope to reach our target of 500 000 in the next five years.