The Pre-Selection

By September 30, the Fashion Fund Team had received over 600 portfolios from fashion creatives based in Africa and many other places around the world. It was an enormous challenge to choose from so many great designers, with so many great stories and so much ambition. The candidates who presented the most remarkable designs in the most interesting ways and who showed the most potential were invited for interview.

The Interviews

The interviews took place in six different countries during the same week. In each country – Togo, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Congo and RCI – 10 to 15 candidates were interviewed by a jury. The members of the jury were all professionals from the fashion industry, ranging from fashion designers to stylists and entrepreneurs.
After meeting several excited and somewhat nervous candidates, each of the juries carefully deliberated on which three candidates would go through to the final in their country. Find out who the finalists are and why they were selected, here!

The Jury Members

A special thanks to our local jury members for sharing their vision and expertise during the selection process for the finals of this year’s fashion fund contest!

Special thanks go to:

In Benin:
Our trusted fashion designer Pepita and Alexandra from the successful hair extension brand True As Nature.

In Togo:
Entrepreneur Candide Leguede, Stylist Mimi Lawson and designer and stylist Nakida.

In Nigeria :
Talented designers Mai Atafo and Amos Tafiri. and award-winning fashion stylist Styleinfidel

In Congo:
PR Director Joëlle Bile and tailoring professional Lydie Okaso.

In Ghana:
Joyce Ababio, Founder and CEO of Joyce Ababio College of designs and Technology, analyst, author and speaker, Abena Brigidi and Sacha Oko, the founder of Viva Boutique.