Africa’s role as both a consumer and a producer of fashion is on the rise. Powered by e-commerce and social media, demand for African fashion is likely to go up among the continent’s growing middle class, which is the fastest growing in the world, with consumer spending expected to hit $1.4 trillion by 2020.

South Africa and Nigeria are the continent’s top fashion markets but Ethiopia, Lesotho, Kenya, Mauritius and Swaziland are leaders in textile and apparel exports. Extremely talented young entrepreneurs have begun to gain global recognition as they pioneer strategies to market and brand fashion concepts grounded in cultural heritage.

The African textile and fashion industry is raising its profile in the international stage. It wants Africa to be seen not just as a new source of labor but as a source of creativity and innovation with talented entrepreneurs that can serve local, regional and global markets. Fashion in Africa is a multi-billion dollar industry that creates millions of jobs, particularly, for women and young people. The country is aiming at exporting finished textile products. The world fashion industry is expected to double in the next decade.