Nigerian textiles on display at London Olympics

27 Jul '12

2 min read

Nigeria’s Bank of Industry (BoI) is showcasing works of some of the country’s highly skilled small-scale entrepreneurs, operating in the cotton, textile and garment sector, at the 2012 London Olympics.

The products, which mainly include ethnic fabrics like the Aso oke, Adire range and Nigerian prints, are on display at the Nigeria House, which will be visited by over 300 Olympic participants.

In addition to apparels, accessories made from Nigerian fabrics and prints are also on display.

Several of the participating exhibitors are beneficiaries of the Nigerian Government’s N 100 billion Cotton, Textile and Garment Revival Scheme, which is being administered by the BoI.

BoI’s idea behind displaying the items made by Nigerian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) at the Olympics is to provide global exposure for these products.

Besides, the feedback received from the interactions at the event would help the producers to understand the requirements and demand of local as well as overseas markets, according to which they can alter or upgrade their products or adjust production.

The BoI initiative would help the SMEs in Nigeria, who are mainly based in rural areas and lack ability to participate in an event of such high level, to identify potential export markets.

BoI expects the expo to boost entrepreneurship in the country, which would help Nigeria achieve its national and regional development goals.

A number of traditional fabrics of Nigeria, particularly the Adire and Aso oke ranges, are admired globally. For decades, many people who work in groups and clusters as family businesses in local communities have relied on production of the two fabrics for earning their livelihood, and hence the traditional production techniques are well preserved even today.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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