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Investment firm Birimian partners with French fashion school & WSN

29 Jun '21
2 min read
Pic: Birimian
Pic: Birimian

Birimian, an investment company dedicated to African luxury heritage brands, has partnered with Institut Français de la Mode (IFM), a fashion school based in Paris, to launch an acceleration programme for emerging African brands. It has also partnered with Who's Next (WSN) that specialises in the exhibition and distribution of independent creative brands.

The two exclusive partnerships illustrate the willingness of all three stakeholders to be part of a long-term venture dedicated to the development of emerging African heritage brands, the stakeholders said in a joint press release.

The IFM-Birimian Accelerator x Africa acceleration programme is for emerging African heritage brands in the fashion, accessories and jewellery sectors. Every year for ten months, the programme, funded by Birimian, will support ten to fifteen emerging designers selected for their talent, originality and potential by a creative committee of experts from the international creative scene.

Applications are open from Monday, June 28, to Tuesday, August 31, 2021. The brands selected will be offered personalised support to help develop their business by a dedicated team of experts in areas such as brand platform; creative process; targeting a relevant audience; marketing strategy; planning and organising collections; distribution strategy; communication policy; online presence and strategy; and financial management.

As part of their participation to the programme, brands will also benefit from funding and advisory services from Birimian.

The partnership between Birimian and WSN will increase the visibility of African brands and expand their opportunities for international distribution. Birimian and WSN plan to organise events as part of the acceleration programme launched with IFM alongside Paris Market Week and Paris Fashion Week, highlighting the brands and designers in the programme.

The partnership focuses on several components like identifying emerging brands; inviting the selected brands to participate in events organised by WSN; incubating and commercially developing the panel of brands supported by Birimian; and organising events to promote African fashion and savoir-faire.

“The partnerships meet the objectives we set for ourselves when we launched Birimian: first, to support and train the new African creative cohort by strengthening their skills and expertise to ensure their level of excellence and second, to accelerate their development by helping them integrate into the fashion ecosystem and the international creative scene,” said Laureen Kouassi-Olsson, chair and CEO of Birimian.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)

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