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A study commissioned by Hivos East Africa to analyze problems small players in the Kenyan fashion industry face plus the opportunities in regional and International markets has been released. The finding from the study are contained in a report titled: The Kenyan Textile and Fashion Industry: The role of fashion designers and small tailors in the fiber to fashion value chain (download report here).

The report has recommendations on how to sustainably integrate local fashion designers into the clothing to fashion value chain in order for them to fully benefit from the industry.

The Hivos East Africa’s Regional Director, Mendi Njonjo, believes that the Kenyan fashion industry remains largely untapped and that it has a potential of creating 300,000 jobs.

At the launch of the report, that involved Equity Bank and The Association Of Fashion Designers Of Kenya – AFAD (K), a credit facility dubbed Maridadi Business was unveiled. The credit facility will be offered by Equity Bank to businesses in the fashion industry and will also have a financial education component. The loans offered will be between Ksh. 5,000 and Ksh. 100 million.

AFAD (K) on its part will offer fashion designers networking program trainings and platforms to market their designs. Established fashion designers will also mentor upcoming designers.

According to stats from the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), the Kenyan fashion industry is worth an estimated US$330m a year. It would be nice to see more investment in the sector and also government support in terms of tax breaks and incentives.