The African Development Bank, under the leadership of the Gender, Women and Civil Society Department (AHGC), is supporting the growth of African MSMEs in the creative industries, notably the fashion, film and food value chains. By using technology as a driver for the development of the skills and capacity of African creative industries, the Bank aims to stimulate job creation on the continent, especially for women and youth. Guided by its belief that global and regional value chains are paramount to boosting inclusive growth, the AfDB debuted Fashionomics Africa in May 2015 during its annual general meetings to discuss ways to strengthen the global value chain of Africa's fashion industry. Fashionomics Africa also offers tremendous scope for African countries to participate in regional and global integration. With Fashionomics Africa, the AfDB assumes leadership in promoting investments in the fashion sector, increasing access to finance for entrepreneurs and incubating and accelerating starts-ups.
