Sterling Bank has intensified its support for Nigeria’s fashion and creative small businesses, positioning the sector as part of a broader push to diversify the economy away from oil and traditional services.
The lender was the headline sponsor of the Africa Fashion Week Nigeria x Made By Nigerians Festival 2025, a two-day showcase that connected more than 250 fashion entrepreneurs with buyers, distributors and trade partners from within Nigeria and overseas. Organisers said the platform was created to close the gap between local creativity and commercial scale, at a time when fashion is becoming one of the fastest-growing segments of Nigeria’s creative economy, estimated at about $4.7 billion.
The event blended a fashion showcase with a retail fair and a business-to-business marketplace, bringing together designers, small business owners and trade entrepreneurs. Participating brands were able to sell directly to consumers while also engaging wholesale buyers and international partners, improving short-term cash flow and building longer-term market visibility.
Attention was placed on emerging designers with three to seven years of industry experience, many of whom sit between informal micro-operations and the scale required to access export markets or institutional finance. By focusing on this group, the organisers said the festival was designed to help fashion businesses move from survival to sustainable growth, with clearer pathways to regional and global markets.
Sterling Bank said its involvement reflects a strategic view of the creative industries as a driver of jobs, exports and innovation. Don Okpako, the bank’s chief marketing officer, said the sponsorship aligns with Sterling’s broader commitment to sectors that deliver wide economic impact. While health, education, agriculture, renewable energy and transportation remain priorities, he said the creative economy, particularly fashion, is playing an increasingly important role in youth-led enterprise and employment.
Okpako noted that limited access to markets, rather than credit alone, remains one of the biggest constraints for small businesses in Nigeria. He said platforms that improve visibility and link entrepreneurs directly to buyers are critical to sustaining growth and promoting inclusion.
Organisers shared similar views. Chidimma Okoli, chief project officer of Made By Nigerians, said the collaboration with Sterling Bank helped reduce some of the structural barriers faced by local fashion entrepreneurs, especially weak networks and limited access to commercial opportunities. She said the platform was deliberately structured to help Nigerian creators scale sustainably and compete beyond domestic retail markets.
Queen Ronke Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi, founder and executive director of Africa Fashion Week Nigeria and London, said the partnership strengthened the organisation’s long-standing focus on mentorship, exposure and business development for African designers. She described the 2025 edition as one of the most commercially impactful so far, pointing to higher participation from small and growing fashion businesses and stronger engagement from trade buyers.
Beyond the runway and retail stalls, the festival highlighted the wider economic role of fashion and creative enterprises in Nigeria. Fashion SMEs support jobs across design, tailoring, logistics, marketing and retail, with strong participation from youth and women, reinforcing the sector’s growing relevance to inclusive economic growth.
