Masterclass: How to build sustainable, rooted, and global African brands
In recent years, initiatives led by institutions have multiplied to support contemporary African creation. As a veteran in this ecosystem, I have witnessed the shifts in interest, the evolution of a new generation of creators, and the trajectories—both challenging and inspiring—of many brands.
Today, with the rise of ambitious new designers, experts, and institutional operators aspiring to build “bankable,” heritage-rooted brands able to respond to contemporary challenges, it is crucial to define what it takes to create a brand that stands the test of time.
One notable example is the Création Botswana program, a pilot initiative bringing together designers, mentors, and institutions. This program marks a transition from isolated, individual paths to a collective dynamic driven by public and private partners. For the first time, experts like Zara Odu (sustainability), Bonolo Moleme (Cotton On Group), and Lukhanyo Mdingi (designer), long engaged in independent initiatives, are being brought in by institutions to support the new generations, share their experience, accelerate the development of young brands, and rally their energy around common objectives for the sector on the continent.
At Gaborone on May 16, this vision became the subject of a public conversation, bringing together institutional actors, creatives, and partners. Through our exchanges on “Building Sustainable Brands in Africa,” a strong conviction emerged: building an enduring brand in Africa requires more than creativity, style, or a passion for fashion—it’s about transforming African heritage into contemporary value, asserting a unique identity, structuring the value chain, and ensuring positive impact in communities.
Sustainability here is ecological, social, and economic. This vision invites an exploration, inspired by the Botswana example, of how skills transmission, innovation, management, and community engagement can help brand at the local international level have a transformative, lasting cultural, social, and economic impact.
Elevating Heritage, Shaping the Future
Africa is often seen as a continent of creativity. The mission of professionals in the creative industries is to transform that creativity into wealth.
With initiatives like Création Botswana, the continent is becoming a laboratory for fashion that balances identity, innovation, and impact. The challenge is to structure the creative ecosystem and use heritage as leverage for global, enduring brands. Transforming African heritage into wealth means acknowledging that creative industries are economic engines, vehicles for cultural transmission, and sources of identity pride—not just aesthetics.
Authentic branding requires a strong anchoring in history and culture—as is true in any country where creative industries contribute to nation branding and prosperity. For example, French luxury doesn’t originate on glamorous boulevards, but in villages, artisan workshops, and family traditions. This connection to territory and collective memory is the root of true differentiation. Brands like Maxhosa, AAKS, and Christie Brown show how strong identity and international expansion can flourish alongside heritage-driven innovation.
Structural challenges: infrastructures, value chains, and financial solidity
In Botswana, the fashion sector remains embryonic and faces key challenges:
Lack of infrastructure (organized production units, access to quality raw materials)
Inadequate training adapted to sector needs
Difficulties accessing local and international distribution networks
As Bonolo Moleme (Cotton On Group, South Africa) puts it:
“There's no point in stocking brands that look like Polo in our shops. What matters is the unique story each brand brings as an option for consumers.”
In Southern Africa, international brands like Polo dominate due to their commercial power and large-scale distribution networks. In a context where vertical integration is rare, local transformation of raw materials and regional specialization are identified as levers for strengthening value chains and creating a sustainable ecosystem. Global brands tend to outperform locally because they are built for international reach, with strong marketing, capital, omnipresence in distribution channels, and competitive unit costs from economy of scale.
Sustainability is therefore not only environnemental—it is also economic. Cost control, time optimization, and transparent accounting are vital for attracting investors and partners.
Innovative models such as retail incubation, which mutualized efforts in prospection and development costs (e.g., shared pop-ups), and circularity (e.g., Thrifty Threads), enable resistance to second-hand market competition while creating local value.
Circularity and technology: towards responsible Fashion
From an environmental impact perspective, Africa has the opportunity to distinguish itself by:
Using local materials through eco-friendly processes
Prioritizing recycling and upcycling
Integrating suitable technologies (e.g., closed-loop dyeing machines, wastewater treatment systems)
Zara Odu (sustainability expert) emphasizes:
“Technology should not replace craftsmanship, but amplify it. Innovation should serve creation and circularity, not uniformity.”
For her, building a brand goes beyond making beautiful clothes—it is about forging a strong, heritage-rooted identity and leveraging cultural uniqueness as a market differentiator. This relies on controlled growth and positive impact on surrounding communities.
Differentiation is materialized through documenting and sharing experiences, collaborating, and rooting authenticity in community development. For Zara, environmental durability is non-negotiable; tomorrow’s fashion will harmonize identity, innovation, responsibility, and sustainable socioeconomic opportunities.
In Botswana, social impact—through transmission and inclusion—must be nurtured further. The government is eager to diversify an economy largely relying on diamond exports, recognizing that long-term value often stems from culture and creative production.
Key needs include:
Transmitting know-how (e.g., Oodi weaving)
Creating jobs and empowering communities (ostrich egg carving, basket weaving in Maun and Okavango)
Fostering inclusion and empowerment
The challenge is to preserve traditions while adapting them to the present, allowing Botswana’s youth to reclaim and reinvent their heritage.
How can we reinvent sustainability and catalyze impact ?
One core insight from the public conversation with Zara Odu, Bonolo Moleme, and myself is that : Building sustainable brands in Africa must shift from aspiration to strategic and collective necessity.
The Création Botswana experience, by uniting talents, mentors, and institutions around a shared vision, demonstrates the possibility of moving beyond individualism to build a resilient, inclusive, and innovative ecosystem. Sustainability in Africa is plural: it is rooted in heritage, fueled by innovation, and embodied by social and economic impact. The testimonies of industry leaders remind us that a brand’s strength lies not only in its aesthetic or market appeal, but also in the depth of its story, management rigor, and community commitment.
Numerous challenges remain: strengthening infrastructure, professionalizing training, integrating value chains, and reinventing business models. But each challenge can become a lever when built upon the innovation, creativity, solidarity, and adaptability that define African entrepreneurship.
The future of creative industries will depend on the ability to balance :
Transmission and innovation: preserving know-how while embracing technology.
Local anchoring and global reach: highlighting identity while seizing international opportunities.
Circularity and social inclusion: making sustainability a driver of shared prosperity.
Ultimately, the real challenge is not just to foster enduring African brands, but to create a model where every individual success contributes to collective transformation. By weaving links between past and future, economy and culture, tradition and modernity, Africa can impose its vision of a fashion that changes the world—sustainably.