Seth Onyango, bird story agency …
“FREE GLOBAL SHIPPING” screams a headline in bold, unmissable type across the landing page of Ananse Africa. Just below it, three models stride confidently down a cobbled street — one swathed in deep navy silk, another in flowing white with hand-painted detail, and the third in a golden ensemble that radiates power.
A short scroll down the page and French and English headlines and instructions jostle politely — “NOS PRODUITS PRÉFÉRÉS” elbows out “Create an account to shop from fashion designers and artisans across Africa.” Even the language feels like a runway, strutting to woo Francophone and Anglophone shoppers across the continent.
Ananse, named after a folklore spider symbolising connection, is one of the emerging retail hubs for African fashion online.
UNESCO tracking shows that little-known apparel and fashion brands in Africa are gaining ground as domestic consumers shift their spending away from international brands and secondhand clothing.
“Digitalisation has expanded growth opportunities for African fashion designers tremendously, enabling those previously constrained by limited domestic markets to reach a much wider regional and international customer base without delocalising.”
Advocates of the “buy local” movement, like Proudly South African, highlight the role of homegrown industries in driving economic growth. Happy Ngidi, the organization’s CMO, emphasises that buying locally not only creates jobs but also protects cultural heritage.
Similar efforts are spreading across Africa, from Ghana’s fashion weeks to Nigeria’s push for made-in-Africa textiles.
Latest figures from data-gathering and market insights firm Statista show Africa’s apparel market amounted to US$73.59 billion in revenue by 2025, and is forecast to grow annually by 4.77% between this year and 2029.
Women’s apparel made up the biggest slice, accounting for US$30.99 billion of Africa’s 2025 revenue, as designers like Nigeria’s Lisa Folawiyo and Kenya’s Vivo Fashion Group tap into demand for culturally resonant yet modern silhouettes.
Per capita, spending remains modest at US$54.77 annually, but the figures hint at a deeper transformation.
The average African is expected to purchase 9.3 clothing items in 2025, with volume reaching 13.6 billion pieces by 2029.
Crucially, 98% of sales will come from non-luxury segments, a sweet spot for local brands offering affordability without sacrificing authenticity.
In Nigeria, where demand for traditional attire like adire and aso-oke is surging, tailors report order backlogs of up to six months.
Lagos-based designer Amaka Osakwe, whose label Maki Oh blends Yoruba motifs with contemporary tailoring is already a breakout star with her creation hitting the runway in Paris and the New York.
Osakwe’s designs challenge conventions with their bold exploration of the female form and autonomy.
“That’s where I find beauty,” Osakwe told the New Yorker magazine.
Like her Nigerian counterpart, Wandia Gichuru’s Vivo which has 29 shops in East Africa with apparel 100 per cent made in Kenya has also launched overseas with a store in Atlanta in the US.
Afronala.co.za in South Africa styles itself as the “ultimate destination for discovering and supporting local brands” in that market.
“We believe in the power of local businesses and their ability to bring unique and exceptional products to the market. Our platform serves as a launchpad for emerging brands, allowing them to connect with a wider audience and grow their businesses,” it states on the website.
On the world stage, African designers continue to build momentum. Sam Mensah Jr., founder of Kisua as well as Ananse, gained worldwide attention when Beyoncé wore a Kisua jacket.
African fashion brands are also exploring new ways of connecting with buyers. Ghana’s Selina Beb, for instance, uses chatbots to design custom kente patterns, while Rwanda’s KnitAfrika processes orders via SMS.
While social media platforms help tailors and designers reach both local and global customers, mobile payments and new shipping services make it easy for them to derive an income from buyers anywhere on the continent, or overseas.
By centralising logistics and offering multilingual interfaces, platforms like Ananse enable artisans in Dakar to sell wax-print skirts to buyers in Durban, while a Kigali-based cooperative ships handwoven baskets to Paris.
Mobile technology underpins this access: with 69% of Africa’s web traffic coming from smartphones—the highest rate globally—brands are optimising for platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram.
Meanwhile, Ecobank has facilitated e-commerce training programs for fashion creatives in countries like Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal, while the Masterard Foundation works with Ananse to support African designers.
The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) is also paving the way for easier trade by allowing payments across borders in local currencies.
At the same time, hyper-personalisation — a growing trend in retail that allows businesses to tailor offerings to individual tastes is also fuelling the momentum.
Despite the growing appeal of local fashion, the second-hand market in Africa continues to thrive.
Whether it is Madunusa in South Africa, Okrika in Nigeria, and Mtumba in Kenya, the African second-hand clothing offering is as diverse as its purveyors.
However, in recent years, customisation incorporating local stitching has begun to emerge, blending tradition with pre-owned clothing.
A 2023 Afrobarometer survey found about half of Africans aged 18–35 now prefer locally made garments.
Governments are reinforcing this tilt, with Rwanda and Uganda having banned used clothing imports and Ghana mulling a similar move, while the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is hoping to. remove cross-border tariffs.
That would enable startups like Tanzania’s Kikuu to ship Kenyan khangas to Zambia at lower prices. Africa’s garment trade would be ready to take on the world.
bird story agency
