If you’re looking to shop with more intention in 2022 and beyond, you won’t want to miss ADJOAA.
Founded by policy analyst turned entrepreneur Pinaman Owusu-Banahene, ADJOAA is a curated marketplace for fashion and lifestyle brands of African descent. It focuses as strongly on driving social and economic change as it does on celebrating the work of black diaspora designers.
Africa’s fashion ecosystem represents an amazing opportunity for designers, brands and business owners (did you know that the clothing and textile market of sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to be worth more than $31 billion?), and Pinaman and her team passionately believe that designers of African descent deserve more equity, and that their craft and expertise should be accessible to a wider audience. To ADJOAA, fashion is “a weapon to fight inequality of representation” as well as being about the discovery of beautiful things.
Seeking original, premium and limited-run products, ADJOAA scouts, vets and aggregates designers and brands, supporting them with the business side of things – sales channels, payment systems and logistics, for example – as well as providing a platform where shoppers can explore, learn and play.
Central to the ADJOAA philosophy is challenging the monolithic narrative that can surround African fashion and designers. It’s intended to be a destination where shoppers can truly discover what ‘Made in Africa’ means, and to engage in a more meaningful way with brands making beautiful things on the continent of Africa.
