Directors Feedback – Fashion Africa Conference – An African Opportunity

I started Fashion Africa Conference with a vision in 2011 to bring the international market together to discuss the present situation in Africa’s textile industry and most importantly to go forward and do business and trade in Africa. Our events now 6 years old is a testimony of this vision. We had speakers fly in from Paris, Canada, Ethiopia, Geneva with delegates signed up from The British Council, to Nike, to Fatface, New African Woman to London College of Fashion.

With the support of event sponsors C&A Foundation, Mantisworld, Proudly made in Africa, Hatch Africa, Soul of Africa, Karma Cola and Brand South Africa we were able to Successfully execute our first ever two day event with awesome panels, keynote sessions, workshops and breakout sessions and the added bonus of being on Kings Road in the historical listed building of Chelsea Town Hall just set the scene of grandeur and the professional seriousness that we raise with these events.

Future Sourcing Panel – L-R

Paige Earlem – Plexus Cotton, Heather Chapelet – Xoomba, Keren Pybus – Ethical Apparel Africa,

Kalkidan Legesse – WOW Sancho

The opportunity to get up close and personal with Simone Cipriani, former United Nations officer and head and founder of the International Trade Centres’ Ethical Fashion Initiative was a joy and added a new level to our conversations. And a delight to see him in conversation with Lance Clark former director of U.K. shoe giant Clark Shoes and present director of Soul of Africa.

L-R Jacqueline Shaw – AFG, Simone Cipriani – Ethical Fashion Initiative/International Trade Centre, Dulma Clark – Soul of Africa and Lance Clark – Soul of Africa (Previous director of Clarks shoes)

We continue to encourage networking with the aim to use this space to build potential business projects and we are glad to create this platform.

Though my own personal critic who always seeks to do more and to grow better each year I can say I am pleased that seeing the feedback that my delegates were also pleased. Because of this we look forward to continue the conferences in London. In the interim we are excited to continue our 12 month city tour for Fashion Africa Voices our more intimate events focused on small business enterprise taking it on the road to Hamburg, Paris, Amsterdam, Nairobi, Addis, Amsterdam and more this year! And most excitingly to bring any interested delegate along with us to Ghana, Kenya or Ethiopia with us on our new project Fashion Africa Sourcing Trips! Exciting times ahead for the AFG team. Do join us for the ride!

With love from Africa

Jacqueline Shaw

Director

Africa Fashion Guide Ltd

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ABOUT Africa Fashion Guide

Africa Fashion Guide is a sourcing and production consultancy and platform which promotes the full supply chain of the African fashion and textile industry to the greater global textile industry. It is a one stop shop linking African designers, craftspeople, manufacturers and textile designers, and more, with UK and EU fashion design companies and consumer markets, as well as with retailers worldwide.

The Africa Fashion Guide website aims to be THE platform for fashion and textile business in Africa, providing information and news on the full supply chain of the African fashion and textiles industry.

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