AfCFTA: How the trade policy could unleash Africa’s Fashion Empire

By Sarah Ibui

My journey into African fashion began long before I realized it. It started during the quiet, disorienting months of the COVID-19 lockdown, when books became both my escape and my mirror. That was when I found myself intentionally searching for people who looked like me in the pages I read. I sought stories where Black and African women were the main characters—stories that reflected a life I recognized as an African woman. Through African and Black literature, I found representation that grounded me and reminded me that our stories matter.

But once you begin to see yourself clearly in one place, you start searching for that same affirmation everywhere else. That literary journey opened the door to something unexpected: a deep curiosity about African fashion. I have always loved fashion; growing up, I would go to the tailors with my mother, seeing posters of thirty different kitenge styles taped to the walls. Those early memories planted a love for creativity and clothing.

Over the past few years, that curiosity has grown into commitment. Today, I am proudly building a wardrobe composed mostly of African fashion brands, pieces that reflect my identity, my continent, and the creativity that has always been a part of it. And this doesn’t always mean colourful, bold pieces; it’s also reflected in the everyday ‘basics’ I wear.

Social media accelerated that transformation. TikTok, Instagram, and even the smallest corners of the internet have become windows into African fashion ecosystems that many of us would never discover otherwise. Through reels and style videos, I found designers whose artistry moved me—designers in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia. But admiring a dress online is one thing; getting it into your hands when you live in Addis Ababa and Juba is a different battle altogether. Every purchase comes facing digital and logistical barriers.

I discovered ShopMona, a Nigerian brand that now occupies a significant portion of my wardrobe with its beautiful dresses and Adire sets. I found Mischelle Sebi, a Kenyan brand, where she tailored wide-leg trousers to perfection. And zewd_design—a fashion designer based in Addis Ababa—has become both a creative partner and a friend. Together, we have crafted some of the most meaningful pieces I own.

Then came the first challenge: payments. The first time I tried to order from a Nigerian brand, the website simply would not accept my banking details. I refreshed the page, re-entered my information, tried different cards, but nothing worked. This is a challenge many Africans know too well: we can see the products, we can afford them, but we cannot access them. Meanwhile, in East Africa, I can easily use M-Pesa to purchase items from Kenya. One continent, two very different realities shaped entirely by infrastructure.

The second challenge was shipping. Sending an item from Kenya to South Sudan is manageable because of the East African Community trading block, but shipping from West Africa to Ethiopia presents a different challenge. A dress from Nigeria can cost four times the price of the item—before taxes. For many customers, that ends the journey instantly. It is not desire that stops us; it is systems.

Africans are not unwilling to shop African; we are simply unable to, constrained by non-tariff barriers that turn intra-African trade into a luxury instead of something ordinary.

This is where the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) becomes important. It isn’t just another policy—it has the potential to make everyday things like payments, shipping, and cross-border buying much easier. If it works the way it’s meant to, buying from a designer in Dakar shouldn’t feel harder than buying from Europe. UNDP has already been supporting countries to prepare for this by aligning trade policies, training MSMEs, strengthening technology, and helping build networks across regions.

Africa has taken steps toward integration, but barriers like customs delays, complicated paperwork, shipping challenges, and standards that differ from country to country still slow things down. With many African nations having small domestic markets, businesses depend on continental access to grow. Fragmented markets make everything more expensive and harder to scale, and small businesses feel that most.

The AfCFTA is meant to fix exactly that. By reducing both tariff and non-tariff barriers, it aims to create a smoother, more predictable trading environment across Africa. And because MSMEs make up around 80 percent of employment on the continent, their ability to access bigger markets is essential. An AfCFTA that works doesn’t just support trade—it opens the door for African creativity, entrepreneurship, and fashion to finally move as freely across the continent as their global counterparts.

My journey—from discovering African literature to proudly wearing African fashion—is part of a much bigger story: a continent reconnecting with its creative power. When payments function seamlessly, shipping becomes affordable, and trade systems finally support African brands, African fashion will move from being admired online to becoming a thriving presence in wardrobes across the continent and beyond.

The author, Sarah Ibui, is Programme Analyst, at UNDP