African fashion has always told stories through fabric, silhouette, and detail. On Friday, November 7, 2025, Stitches Africa, an AI-powered fashion platform, launched its mobile app in Lagos, offering the continent’s fashion industry a decisive step forward in how it connects, produces, and is perceived globally. This launch marks more than a technological milestone; it signals a shift in the infrastructure that has long constrained the reach of African creativity.
The platform was designed to connect African designers and tailors with customers around the world, particularly Africans in the diaspora seeking authenticity in dress and design. For years, access to African-made clothing outside the continent has been fragmented and inconsistent. Stitches Africa addresses this gap by offering tools, visibility, and a system for production that empowers creators to reach customers wherever they are. The timing is significant. African fashion has experienced a recent global resurgence, celebrated not only for its aesthetics but also for the histories, cultures, and experiences it embodies. Stitches Africa now creates a bridge between creativity and infrastructure, giving this resurgence the support it has long been denied.
Co-founder and CEO Franklyn Peters described the platform as a game-changer for both individual designers and the industry as a whole: “Through our AI-driven body measurement technology, customers can now generate accurate digital measurements for perfectly tailored fits from anywhere in the world,” Peters explained. “With this opportunity to earn in dollars, African tailors can now afford better fabrics and compete globally. We are not just refining fashion, we are refining our process, our economy, and our pride.”
The app offers a seamless shopping experience for bespoke and ready-to-wear items produced by verified African designers, functioning both as a marketplace and a digital archive of African creativity. It addresses long-standing gaps in the fashion ecosystem: limited access to African-made clothing abroad, low visibility for tailors, and inconsistent bespoke measurements. By combining technology with cultural preservation, the platform positions African fashion to assert its influence rather than simply respond to global trends. It is a platform that honors tradition while embracing innovation, allowing designers to retain their unique voices while operating on a global scale.
Alongside the launch, Stitches Africa announced a $50 million financing programme designed to scale the industry to international markets. The initiative, led by JF Advisory Group with Cedrus Trustees Ltd serving as custodian and transaction trustee, will fund market expansion, product financing for tailors, logistics infrastructure, and technological improvements. This level of investment demonstrates confidence not only in Stitches Africa’s business model but also in the broader potential of African fashion to compete globally.
According to Head of Marketing, Joy Oikeh, the programme reflects a strategic commitment to empowering designers and fashion entrepreneurs through structured funding and transparent governance. Head of Legal, Ntishorkara Monkom, added that this initiative represents “the future of African fashion commerce, one that empowers creators, strengthens value chains, and connects African creativity to global markets.” Beyond individual profits or transactions, the initiative is creating systems that allow African fashion to function sustainably and competitively, ensuring that talent is supported at every step from design to delivery.
With over 4.6 million Africans living in the United States and millions more across Europe, South America, and Australia, the platform’s potential impact is global. Fashion lovers and members of the diaspora can now access Africa’s finest craftsmanship at www.stitchesafrica.com, gaining the kind of authenticity and precision that was previously difficult to find. Beyond mere accessibility, the platform encourages a cultural dialogue, allowing African fashion to speak directly to the world while retaining its integrity and heritage.
This initiative is poised to revolutionize African fashion on every level. By supporting all stages of the supply chain, it creates a qualitative leap forward economically, creatively, and culturally. African fashion has always been ahead of the curve in design and craftsmanship. Now, with Stitches Africa bridging the systems gap, the continent is ready to compete on equal footing with global fashion giants, reclaiming its place not just in aesthetics but in structure, influence, and innovation. This is a moment when technology, culture, and enterprise converge, offering a vision of African fashion that is confident, self-determined, and globally visible.
The launch of Stitches Africa’s app is more than an opportunity for designers or a convenient marketplace for consumers. It is a statement that African creativity can operate on the same sophisticated systems as the world’s leading fashion industries. It is a declaration that African fashion, with its history, skill, and narrative depth, is ready to define its own rules and set new standards for global design. In this sense, Stitches Africa is not just a platform; it is a movement, one that blends technology with heritage, ambition with craft, and local talent with global opportunity.
Readers can explore the platform and its growing ecosystem at www.stitchesafrica.com.
Osagie Ebuehi writes articles about the intersection of fashion, culture and society. He also blogs at zeroesdomain.com
