AFC Partners with Lagos Fashion Week 2025 to Champion Sustainable Fashion, Local Manufacturing in Africa

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the continent’s leading infrastructure solutions provider, has announced a strategic partnership with Lagos Fashion Week 2025 to strengthen Africa’s creative and manufacturing sectors through sustainable investment and value addition.

The collaboration underscores AFC’s commitment to empowering Africa’s youth and creative industries as drivers of inclusive economic growth. With Africa’s apparel and textile exports projected to reach $15 billion by 2030, AFC’s partnership will support Lagos Fashion Week’s mission to advance local manufacturing, sustainable production, and regional value chains across the continent.

Through its investee company, ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms (ARISE IIP), AFC is enabling Africa’s shift from exporting raw materials to producing high-value finished goods. The Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone (GDIZ) in Benin Republic, for instance, houses state-of-the-art textile factories processing African cotton into garments exported to global retailers such as The Children’s Store in the United States. The initiative has created thousands of skilled jobs and promotes sustainability by using 100% renewable energy and recycling 95% of its water.

“Africa’s creative industries embody both our cultural pride and our economic promise. Through this partnership with Lagos Fashion Week 2025, we are advancing AFC’s commitment to turn that promise into measurable impact, supporting the full fashion value chain to empower the youth, strengthen local manufacturing, and drive value addition on the continent,” said Samaila Zubairu, President and CEO of AFC. “By building critical infrastructure that underpins these creative value chains, AFC i
s ensuring that Africa’s designers and manufacturers can compete on a truly global stage,” he added.

Now in its 15th year, Lagos Fashion Week has grown into a globally recognised platform for African design excellence. The 2025 edition will highlight circular fashion, responsible sourcing, and regional production networks—key focus areas aligned with AFC’s sustainability agenda.

Omoyemi Akerele, Founder of Lagos Fashion Week, said “We are pleased to welcome AFC as a key partner for Lagos Fashion Week 2025. Their commitment to advancing sustainable infrastructure and local manufacturing aligns with our mission to strengthen the foundations of Africa’s fashion ecosystem and fostering meaningful leadership in financing sustainable infrastructure and manufacturing aligns perfectly with our vision for a future where Africa’s creative industries not only inspire but also produce and export value from within the continent.”

AFC’s partnership with Lagos Fashion Week 2025 follows other creative collaborations, including its +234Art Fair partnership with Ecobank, reaffirming its commitment to nurturing Africa’s creative talent. To date, AFC-backed projects have contributed over US$50 billion to GDP and supported the creation of seven million jobs across 36 African countries.