African Fashion Project (AFP) is our latest program through FICOTA. It is a multi-channel platform created to provide capacity building, development, career opportunities, and more for fashion SMEs, fashion professionals, fashion students, and aspiring fashion professionals + students based in Africa and the diaspora.
Our onsite workshops are for locals with interest in fashion design, artisanal trades, and creative SMEs to provide machinery, resources, and knowledge of the fashion and textile industry. AFP creates opportunities for them to become vibrant African designer, artisans, creative players, creative SMEs and brands.
The mission is to multiply the African cotton industry's transformation of local smallholder production and isolated skills and talents into African fashion products and sustainable SMEs using ancestral know-how blended with updated business models for the African and world markets. It is a private sector initiative started in Yaoundé by Mary Concilia Anchang that is creating solutions for the local SME development and infrastructure needs. We emphasize the need to give consideration to the entire supply chain of products, including thorough elevation of standards across all stages of creation going from agriculture, technology, transport, energy, waste, job creation, community engagement, and social impact. AFP spotlights the importance of high awareness, accountability, and intention put into the work that runs throughout the supply chain and to establish mindful, transparent business models in hope that its residual benefits will be experienced across many industries and markets. While this industry sector begins to operate in its full potential, public and private sectors will be at an advantage to create and partake in development programs and value creating systems for generations to come.
AFP’s call to action: Be knowledgeable, accountable, and intentional with your product and production processes to create maximum positive impact and value for all involved, from the developmental stages to consumer experience.
AFRICAN FASHION PROJECT LAUNCHED FEBRUARY 5, 2021
African Fashion Project launched with its first workshop on February 5, 2021 in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The workshop was invite only to select designers throughout Cameroon with existing relationships with the organization as a beta for the pilot project. The aim of the workshop was the evaluation and reinforcement of apparel and accessories designer skills as a clothing and accessories designer. The program’s objective was to identify the difficulties that are encountered in the field and to develop the skills of the participants. AFP developed an exchange session for the designers and professionals in the activity sector who provided feedback and techniques that would add to the designers' knowledge, and consequently increase the competitiveness of their products in the local market with opportunities to expand to the national and international market as well.
