Launched in June 2021, this program benefits emerging brands inspired by an African heritage and operating in the fields of fashion, accessories, jewelry, and cosmetics.
During a year, the designers are supported by a group of experts from the international creative scene. During group workshops or individual coaching and mentoring sessions, they are given the essential tools to master their
transition to scale and position themselves in a sustainable way in the international fashion market.
This year, 5 ready-to-wear fashion brands (premium and luxury), 3 footwear brands (premium), 2
accessories brands (premium and art pieces), and 1 cosmetics brand (high-end), are joining the program :
• Armando Cabral, Guinée, Italie, Etats-Unis
• Azede Jean Pierre, Haïti, Etats-Unis
• Chez Nous Tunisie, France
• Endelea, Tanzanie, Italie
• Lafalaise Dion, Côte d’Ivoire
• Pichulik, Afrique du Sud
• Renwa Yassin, Côte d’Ivoire, Liban
• Suki Suki Naturals, Afrique du Sud
• Wanda Lephoto,, Afrique du Sud
• Wibes,, Côte d’Ivoire, France
• Zyne,, Maroc
33% of the selected brands operate between the African continent and Europe, 8% of them between the African continent and the Middle East, and 59% have an exclusively African production.
This cohort is therefore marked by diversity, an openness to the world, and an ability to combine an African heritage with international influences:
“The second edition of the program is synonymous with diversity on several levels.
Sectoral diversity with brands that are open to the creative industries in the broadest sense, from fashion to jewelry to beauty and footwear, and geographical diversity with intercontinental brands.
This richness embodies the internationalization and diversification of brands of African heritage, and we are very proud that the program can reflect this,” said Thomas Delattre, Director of the Fashion Entrepreneurship Center at IFM.
The IFM-Birimian Accelerator x Africa program is a unique opportunity for emerging designers and brands from the continent and the diaspora to benefit from 12 months of strategic and operational support, allowing them to professionalize and institutionalize their activities. It is a program focused on promoting creative entrepreneurship.
“As an investment company, we know that the creative talent of young African designers must be supported by structures that allow them to develop viable and sustainable activities. Our goal is that by the end of the program, these brands are sufficiently structured to take off on the international scene, or receive an investment that allows them to scale up,” concludes Laureen Kouassi-Olsson, CEO of Birimian.
About Birimian
An operational investment company dedicated to luxury and premium brands of African heritage,
Birimian supports the continent’s designers over the long term, in their growth trajectory and for their international development. Birimian’s ambition is to accelerate the emergence of African brands internationally by positioning itself as their partner of reference in four main sectors: fashion, accessories, beauty & cosmetics and gourmet.
Birimian targets brands that carry in their DNA and their identity, the culture, tradition, history of the continent, its cultural heritage, sublimated in its diversity and adapting to modern and contemporary codes
About IFM
A private higher education institution of general interest recognized by the Ministry of Higher Education, a training center for apprentices and executive education and a center of expertise for, the textile, fashion and luxury industries, Institut Français de la Mode offers 16 training programs at vocational, Bachelor, Master, Executive MBA and doctorate levels, which prepare students for all the professions in the fashion industry in the fields of management, design and craftsmanship Based in the heart of Paris on a new 9,000 m² campus, Institut Français de la Mode welcomes more than 1,000 students of some 50 nationalities – managers, designers, technicians, entrepreneurs – encouraging meetings, collaborations and cultural effervescence.
Institut Français de la Mode is a member of HESAM University, the Conférence des Grandes Ecoles, the Cumulus Association and the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institute (IFFTI). It is supported by the Ministry of Economy and Finance
Press contact
Nicolas Teisserenc – Agence Poinciana:
nicolas@poinciana.co
+33 6 18 09 66 90
Jessica Ngon Kemoum – Birimian Ventures
jessica.ngonkemoum@birimianventures.com
+225 05 01 19 00 96
How do we facilitate access to finance for African fashion and creative entrepreneurs? Why is this process crucial for the development of an African creative economy? And how does the Birimian x OBA financing program fit into our global strategy to support brands of African heritage?
Birimian and Orange Bank Africa have strengthened their partnership by signing an extension to the envelope dedicated to their financing program for Ivorian creative and cultural entrepreneurs.
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