WIFT president Bukola Yekini Ajayi said the association has developed solutions to safeguard members’ products against design theft and counterfeiting and traditional Kenyan designs and the African culture needs to be protected.
She was addressing the maiden Afro-EU Garment Innovation and Sustainability Summit in Lagos.
The association has over 5,000 registered members across 28 states.
Ajayi urged the government to review funding policies for women entrepreneurs, explaining that many fashion business owners remain excluded from existing support schemes due to debt burdens.
Loans received during the COVID-19 period, disbursed largely through online channels, have become a major stumbling block preventing women from accessing new funding opportunities, she was cited as saying by Kenyan media reports.
“Instead of helping them, the COVID-19 support became a trap. Many women cannot forge ahead because of debts they are unable to repay, and this blocks them from accessing fresh funds,” she lamented.
WIFT is building an ecosystem to address the value chain challenges in garment production, while pushing for policies that favour local designers, she added.
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