The AFDB, at a just concluded event held in Gauteng, South Africa has called for the empowerment of small and medium textile and accessories operators, as a job creation strategy in Africa.
This empowerment is to help them advance beyond their current levels of manufacturing to innovation and job creation.
Seeing that the fashion sector is the second largest and fastest growing sector in the world, if concentrations are direct to it, it will cause an invention of witty strategy to grow the continent’s economy.
Ms. Emmanuella Gregorio, the Gender Specialist at AfDB, said at the conference “Textile and clothing is the second largest sector in the developing world after agriculture. This sector is dominated by SMEs and holds the potential to create jobs for millions of women and youth across Africa,”
Therefore, the AFDP has launched a strategy called the “Fashionomics initiative”.
“In this context, we have developed a flagship initiative named Fashionomics to enable African women and youth operating in the textiles, apparel and accessories sector to develop and grow their businesses,”
“The foundation of any long-lasting venture in Africa depends on the continuous empowerment of regional SMEs and young entrepreneurs. Governments, the private sector, and international investors must consider Africa’s young people and SMEs central to the stability of their economies,” she said.
The Fashionomics (the economics of fashion) initiative will be focusing on women and youths in Africa that specialize in textile and accessories. This strategy is set to aid the advancement of micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) on textile and accessories to increase Africa’s participation in the global textile industry supply chain.