AFWN Textile & Garment Manufacturing Conference Set To Take Place July 1

The conference which is the primary activity on the opening day of the AFWN 2016 will hold under the theme: Making Nigeria the Fashion Production Hub of Africa.

The conference aims to redefine textile and garment production processes in Nigeria and its entire value chain in order to boost job creation and a future of shared prosperity for Nigerians.

It will host fashion entrepreneurs, development finance institutions, and textile industry groups, among others, and will feature speakers that include Mrs. Aisha Abubakar, Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment; Dr. Mustapha Abiodun Akinkunmi, Commissioner for Finance, Lagos State; Mr. Akintunde Oyebode, Executive Secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund; Mrs Folake Oyemade, Managing Director of Sam and Sara and Mr. Dapo Adelegan, President, Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce.

Other confirmed speakers at the conference are Mr. H. A. Kwajaffa, Director General, Nigeria Textile Garment and Tailoring Employers Association; Ms. Jennifer Anoyika, Director General, Nigerian-German Business Association; Miss Doris Onwugamba Managing Director, Manufacturing Resource Centre, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN); Dr. Peter Kondricz, Commercial Diplomat/First Secretary, Embassy of Hungary; Dr. Johannes Flosbach, Head of Performance Management Group, TGI Group, and Chioma Nwagboso, Advisor on Public Private Partnerships for GIZ (German International Cooperation).

Speaking on the conference, Founder, Africa Fashion Week Nigeria & London, Ronke Ademiluyi, said the conference was necessitated by the abysmal performance of the textile industry. “It is ironic that the textile manufacturing sector which played a major role in boosting the nation’s economy and accelerating her development pace is at an all-time low. This is why Africa Fashion Week Nigeria is bringing industry stakeholders together to deliberate and strategize on how to get the sector which once provided employment to millions of Nigerians fully operational again.”

Meanwhile, the Nigerian-German Business Association (NGBA), a not-for-profit organisation comprising of over 400 Nigerian and German owned business enterprises, has been named as an institutional partner for the AFWN manufacturing conference. Other partnering institutions are the Bank of Industry (BOI) and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC).

The conference is a timely intervention focused on reviving textile and garment production in Nigeria thereby positioning home-grown fashion entrepreneurs for emerging opportunities in an increasingly globalised world. As Nigerian designers and fashion entrepreneurs gain increasing recognition across the world’s fashion capital of New York, Paris for their genius, there is more than a compelling need for the local fashion production value chain to be strategically positioned to face the influx of global challengers.