Africa Fashion Week Nigeria 2018 promises to be an exciting experience — with Kunle Afolayan debuting his fashion line and the introduction of Business of Fashion Round-table event.

The Business of Fashion Forum is scheduled to hold on September 15. The Seminar offers the opportunity to young talents to learn the basic foundation of building a fashion brand and earn a sustainable living — and the careers that are available in the fashion industry. Here's the breakdown of the events of the day.

Business of Fashion Round-table Timeline

1PM - Bank of Industry : How to Access Fashion Funds

In 2015, Bank of Industry (BOI) launched a fashion fund, which provides fashion business an opportunity to create jobs and add value to the Nigerian economy, while promoting a unique fashion sense in the country.
The fund has nine per cent interest rate with six to 12 month moratorium period, as well as three to five years loan tenure. The Bank of Industry promised to increase the N1billion set aside to promote the fashion industry in the country, if the demands for it increased. To access these funds,you must be interested in making clothes, shoes, accessories and jewellery. Since its launch, quite a number of designers have been able to get a grant to boost their business.

At Business of Fashion seminar for AFWN2018, a director from BOI will break down how to access the fashion fund and how best to use it to utilize your fashion business. Interested parties must be involved in the production and marketing of fashion items like clothes, handbags, shoes, jewellery and other fashion accessories.

KEYNOTE: The state of Fashion’s Business in Africa: opportunities for Start-ups & Investors

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Uche Nnaji CEO, OUCH!

1:30PM - Panel Discussion: Building a Fashion Business in Nigeria: Production, Marketing and the Back Office

The Panelists

Uche Nnaji - OUCH!

Uche Nnaji is a Visionary, Lifestyle-Prenuer, Image – Stylist, these are some of the titles that describes him, but Uche is better known as the Style Doctor. This award winning founder of OUCH-Lifestyle, a premium Fashion & Lifestyle company has been able to build an aspirational Fashion and Lifestyle brand that is well embraced by a discerning clientele base. From a dream that started with assisting fellow students to knot their neckties in the University dormitory, Uche after been denied student visa for his masters in the United Kingdom 11 year Ago.

Launched the first OUCHlet store in Maryland, Lagos, Today, the OUCH brand has expanded to 8 OUCHlets across Nigeria with branches in Lekki, Surulere, Victoria Island, Murtala Mohammed Local Airport and in Port- Harcourt. Over the years, Uche Nnaji has grown to become an authority in the fashion industry, with collections showcased at the ECOWAS fashion week amongst others. Internationally, his works have been showcased at New York Fashion week 2010, New York fashion week 2011 and African Fashion Week London in September 2012. He also has a lot of awards and achievement to his name.

Mimi Hassan – Kaaya Productions

Mimi Hassan is a passionate "fashionpreneur" with over 10 years’ experience in the fashion industry. Her mission is to change the game in the Nigerian fashion industry. She has successfully made a name for herself in Nigerian and African fashion, as well as built her own brand name the ‘Mimi Lee brand‘. After a brief stint as fashion editor for international publication pride magazine, she discovered and gave birth to one of her latest projects. While working as fashion editor for pride magazine, she was always bombarded with emails from talented Nigerian and African brands, who wanted to be showcased in the magazine.

She was overwhelmed with the amount of talent and came up with an idea of a fashion discovery platform where shoppers can discover new brands and shop those brands (platform was called STYLISTAA) Presently she is the founder of Nigeria's first ever mega fashion store Online KAAYA (formerly known as stylistaa.com), which also has a manufacturing hub (Kaaya production services).
She now designs, retails, manufactures and distributes Nigerian and African brands.

Joshua Ogbimi – Beckley Consulting

Mr. J.O.E. Ogbimi is the Chief Executive Officer of Beckley Consulting Ltd. Beckley Consulting renders professional support services for micro, small and medium enterprises in the following areas: finance and accounting, recruitment and performance management, payroll administration, legal/company secretarial services, taxation (personal and corporate), and training. Mr Ogbimi has a passion for the development and growth of small businesses, and how to remove obstacles that militate against their successes through bespoke professional services and capacity building sessions.

He has over six years’ experience of working closely with small and start-up businesses to put appropriate structures in place for growth and sustainability. He is also a resource person for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria’s training programme in Human Resources and Small and Medium Enterprises. Mr. Ogbimi had a working career of over 30 years in Consulting, Finance, and Human Resources, across several industries and sectors of the Nigerian economy including: oil and gas (downstream and upstream); engineering services, construction, hospitality and professional practice.

Abasiama Idaresit - Wild Fusions

Abasiama Idaresit is a Nigeria-born technology entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Wild Fusions a digital marketing agency with offices in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya. Forbes Magazine named him among “Ten African Internet Millionaires To Watch" in 2013

Idaresit started his business with $250 seed funding and built it into a multi million company across three African countries. He has worked to empower businesses and enable African startups to succeed using technology like Baby M.He advocates for early adoption of technology among African businesses.

MODERATOR: Hashim Zein

Hashim Zein is our conference consultant providing strategy and implementation finesse to our events. He has consulted on several successful conferences in Nigeria. With 15 years of technology, manufacturing and marketing experience from super high tech to entertainment, FMCG and extractive industries, and now in a commercial role, Hashim is no stranger to the constant interface between entrepreneurs and SMEs with commercial success across a value chain. An Electrical Engineering Alumni of The University of Texas, he also holds an MBA from the prestigious EDHEC Business School in France.

Save the date

15th - 16th September 2018
2 Day Exhibition  | 3 Catwalk Shows | Business of Fashion

Saturday

Business of Fashion Forum: 1pm
Catwalk Shows: 3pm & 6pm
Exhibition (Door Opens 11am)  - FREE ENTRY

Sunday

Gala Show: 5pm