LAGOS, Nigeria, Nov. 1, 2026 – The Confederation of African Fashion (CAFA) will unveil its plan to grow Africa’s fashion economy from $30 billion to $500 billion at CANEX WKND 2026 in Lagos.

‎

‎The presentation will mark CAFA’s first anniversary on Nov. 5. It will be held jointly with the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts, Lagos.

‎

‎CAFA President, Prof. Lai Labode, said the body is working with African governments to align policies on sourcing, production, trade and intellectual property to ensure more value for African businesses.

‎

‎Nigeria became the first country to sign the African Fashion Industry Growth Charter on Nov. 5, 2025, when Culture Minister Hannatu Musa Musawa signed on behalf of the Federal Government.

‎

‎Musawa said Afroliganza aims to build a structured fashion economy rooted in African heritage and positioned for global impact, adding that investment in the sector will create millions of jobs, especially for women and youth.

‎

‎CAFA, registered in Rwanda with an office in Kigali, said it is working with Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for African Union adoption of the Charter. Rwanda is set to become the second participating country.

‎

‎In its first year, CAFA gathered 50 nations at the Egbaliganza-Lisabi Festival in Abeokuta and signed a memorandum of understanding with Turkey’s ASRIAD.

‎

‎Its programmes include processing African raw materials into finished clothes locally, protecting intellectual property through its ‘Own What We Create’ initiative, and promoting standards through the CAFA Certified Seal and Heritage Mark.

‎

‎CAFA said it is establishing African Global Fashion Houses in international markets and will debut the African Global Fashion Games in Nigeria in 2028. The games, to be held every three years, will bring designers together to compete under national colours, with investor meetings and policy talks.

‎

‎The CAFA stand at CANEX will be open daily from Nov. 5 to 8 for creatives, designers, investors and policymakers.