A major investment in Nigeria’s creative future has yielded impressive results, as the Yetroselane Fashion Hub successfully equipped one thousand young adults with specialized abilities for business ownership and professional advancement within the garment sector. This intervention represents a considerable boost to youth employment statistics and the development of new enterprises.
The participants, ranging in age from 18 to 35, completed training under the WEFash Impact Project, an intensive incubation and accelerator model. This initiative was executed through a vital collaboration with the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The program’s design strategically blended practical, hands-on instruction with comprehensive support for business maturity, mentorship opportunities, and the distribution of essential tools, transforming raw creative talent into reliable income streams and entrepreneurial ventures.
Yetunde Akande, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Yetroselane Fashion Hub, reported that the project successfully identified talent spanning twenty-five states. In a focused effort to promote gender equality and minimize disparity, a remarkable 90 percent of the participants were female. Akande elaborated on the program’s measurable outcomes: it facilitated the creation of 1,000 jobs in total, successfully transitioned 400 beneficiaries into secure employment positions, aided 170 individuals in launching entirely new fashion businesses, and provided support for 430 to either expand or fundamentally improve their existing commercial operations. To enable these new entrepreneurs to gain a competitive edge, select graduates were provided with starter equipment, including industrial-grade sewing machines, heat presses, necessary tailoring tools, and complimentary business registration to enhance both credibility and market visibility.
The recent graduation ceremony, a gathering of prominent industry leaders and collaborative partners, served as a tribute to innovation, perseverance, and the growing economic clout of Nigeria’s creative sphere. The Consul-General from the Kingdom of the Netherlands delivered the main address, underscoring that skill acquisition is a paramount driver for the socio-economic progress of youth. The presence of the chairman of the National Communications Commission (NCC) and the CFYE Nigeria team lead further solidified the institutional acknowledgment of the fashion industry as a viable route to job creation and inclusive economic prosperity.
Among the various success stories, Oyebola Ganiyat was honored as the top graduate. Despite courageously managing sickle cell disease, Ganiyat successfully built her brand into a flourishing operation and is now paying it forward by training other women, thereby fostering indirect job creation and strengthening community autonomy. Furthermore, the cohort benefited from an extensive cross-regional mentorship structure, which connected participants with seasoned industry experts across Nigeria and neighboring West African nations, including Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Gambia. This significantly broadened their knowledge base and exposed them to markets beyond local confines.
For the apparel sector and MSMEs across the African continent, this program stands as a powerful demonstration of how targeted, skills-based interventions can dramatically accelerate the founding of new businesses, ignite creative entrepreneurship, and enrich value chains. Should such models be maintained and expanded, they hold the potential to substantially reinforce Africa’s burgeoning fashion ecosystem and unlock wider avenues for young innovators eager to partake in the global apparel economy.
