Aba tailors seek partnership with BoI to boost industry
Tailors in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, on the aegis of Association of Tailors and Fashion Designers (ATFAD), are seeking partnership with the Bank of Industry (BoI) to boost the fashion industry.
The cluster seeks collaboration with BoI in fund syndication, provision and access to soft loans, training and skill development, linkage with other schemes, geared towards the promotion, growth and competiveness of micro, small and medium enterprises.
They observed that the cluster has great potentials to earn foreign exchange for the country, as clothes designed and sewn with local fabrics, would be exported alongside the conventional shirts, trousers and suits to other parts of the world, if well empowered.
They affirmed that BoI N1 billion Fashion Fund, would help immensely in boosting the tourism potentials of the country, stressing that a nation’s mode of dressing, forms an integral part of its culture.
The group in a proposal to BoI and a copy made available to BusinessDay, stated that the sector lacks access to funds, noting that the BoI initiative came as a soothing relief to sector operators and would enhance their ability to grow and achieve their potentials as well as compete effectively globally.
It is estimated that Aba hosts not less than 20,000 tailors.
Bank of Industry launched N1 billion fashion fund for players at the micro, small and medium-scale levels.
The Fashion Fund joins two other SME funds recently launched by the country’s development bank-the N5 billion cottage agro processing fund and the N1 billion Nolly fund.
Rasheed Olaoluwa, managing director/CEO, BoI, said the fashion fund is in fulfilment of the bank’s commitment to develop special funds and credit products to deepen penetration of and enhance support to specific SME clusters.
“We see an opportunity to support Nigeria’s leading fashion businesses to increase their production volumes and quality, thereby making them more competitive in both the domestic and international markets,” Olaoluwa said.
“In Nigeria, our own African prints, known as Ankara fabrics, have become very popular in the fashion world due to the ingenuity and industry of Nigerian designers such as Dakova, Frank Oshodi, Tiffany Amber and Deola Sagoe, among others. Amazing designs are now created using local fabrics and are featured in both local and international fashion shows,” he observed.
The BoI’s helmsman pointed out that many of Nigeria’s fashion designers have received training in some of the best fashion schools in the world, and therefore have the intellect, talent, creativity, skills and drive to take Nigeria’s fashion industry to the next level on the global fashion stage.
He said the growth in Nigeria’s urban population, the macro-economic environment, increasing purchasing power of the emerging middle class and a strong appetite for consumer goods are positive factors in favour of a flourishing fashion cluster.
He explained that fashion provides an important opportunity to diversify Nigeria’s economy and create jobs, particularly among the youth, expressing confidence that the Fund will help to catalyse the fashion cluster, create millions of jobs and also generate foreign exchange earnings for businesses and economy.
“I keep saying this all the time. If one person is given N3 million, and another person is given N6 million or N7 million, at the end of the day, it still amounts to nothing. We will still keep going round and round until we have a production hub,” Ajila-Ladipo said.