Textile Industry in Nigeria – Omoyemi Akerele
Story of Omoyemi Akerele’s Success in Nigeria’s Textile Industry
Nigerian designers right now are emerging and making their presence known in the fashion industry. Recently, they have made it even more evident in the fashion capitals of ‘Big Four’.
A woman called Omoyemi Akerele, the founder of Lagos Fashion Week using her fashion development organization Style House Files – played a significant role in terms of bringing Nigeria on the fashion map of the world.
Africa’s presence in the fashion industry is increasing at a high rate; more than 40 designers of this continent participated in various fashion events in this season. They include Sell Raby Kane from Senegal, Larry jay belonging to Ghana, Rwandan Haute Baso and South African designer Thebe Magugu – the winner of 2019 LVMH prize.
Akerele began her journey 3 years back through her initiative (SHFT) or Style House Files Trains. To teach people the techniques of manufacturing quality garment products. Akerele says “Everyone comes to Lagos Fashion Week to experience the collections and see the talent and creativity,” she adds “But for a country like Nigeria and a continent like Africa, it’s important that creativity feeds back into our ecosystem. Where are Nigerian designers sourcing the fabrics from and who’s producing the collections? They’re not telling an authentic African fashion story if it’s designed in Nigeria and made elsewhere.”
Employment Opportunities in Nigeria
Unemployment in Nigeria is a significant issue. Almost 25 percent of its population is unemployed where the total population is near to 200 million. In this case, SHFT is playing a role, gradually fighting the unemployment problem. They have already provided training for 600 individuals.
This training session is a two-stage scheme. The first one being a 9-5 course for eight weeks. In the second stage, some of them are called back in for two more months of serious training procedures.
Those attending get paid an amount which is above Nigeria’s minimum wage. There are some partner organizations such as (NEPC) Nigeria Export Promotion Council., (LSETF) Lagos State Employability Trust Fund, (ITF) Industrial Training Fund, to name a few.
Despite the challenges, SHFT is slowly progressing. “It’s an incremental improvement in the grand scheme of things, but a step in the right direction nonetheless,” adds Akerele, “The idea [of SHFT] is to create real social and economic impact; to provide people with tools that can help put food on the table. That’s what drives me to do what I do. Fashion really can change lives in Nigeria.”