African Fashion: Afreximbank presented 90 designers from 32 countries, the narrative becomes the selling point

The value of African fashion is not just played out in the fiber or the factories, but in narratives that no one else can tell: this is the thesis defended on September 25, 2026, by the pan-African agency Bird Story Agency, which gives a voice to South African designer Wanda Lephoto. "Design is more than creating clothes," he summarizes, seeing it as a way to ask questions and return to stories.

Knowledge as a raw material

This argument shifts the usual debate on local transformation. For decades, the continent has exported raw cotton and imported finished clothing; the most frequently proposed response is industrial. Bird Story Agency adds another resource that cannot be relocated: cultural knowledge, inherited craftsmanship, and family and spiritual memory. Wanda Lephoto is thus leading a research project, WL FOUND, dedicated to South African history between 1850 and 1994, from which he draws his collections.

Designers already spotted off the continent

The Ghanaian label Boyedoe, founded by David Kusi Boye-Die, became the first brand from Ghana to reach the semi-finals of the LVMH Prize in 2025, according to the same source. It is a signal, among others, that international trendsetting circuits are beginning to open up.

What CANEX has changed

The CANEX program of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) showcased 90 designers from 32 countries at the end of 2024, and enabled them to secure orders from buyers in France, Germany, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States, reports Bird Story Agency. The institution refuses to see this as a niche market and speaks of a unique proposition for the future of fashion. Sustainability and circularity are among the selection criteria, not just an option.

What is still missing

The narrative is not enough to build an industry: without production capacity at scale, without working capital financing, and without reliable logistics, a European order remains difficult to fulfill from Accra or Johannesburg. The question posed to African states and the continent's banks is therefore less about talent—which is well-documented—than about the resources provided to designers to transform recognition into jobs.