Fashion and textiles
knowledge bank

Overview

Sierra Leone’s fashion and textiles sector has strong potential to drive private-sector growth, create jobs and support economic diversification. Building on the country’s rich textile heritage and a growing community of designers and creative entrepreneurs, the sector is well positioned to develop distinctive products for local and international markets. However, growth is constrained by limited production capacity and skills, restricted access to finance, high input and shipping costs, weak industry coordination, and challenges in accessing regional and global markets.

Through Invest Salone, the UK Government worked with fashion and textiles businesses, industry representatives and public institutions to address key constraints and strengthen the foundations for sector growth.

The programme initially provided practical support to businesses on pricing, branding, product development and export readiness. Over time, this focus broadened to address challenges across the sector, including quality certification, international market access and industry coordination.

Invest Salone promoted Sierra Leone’s traditional textiles and locally produced fashion, enabled designers to showcase their work internationally, supported the development of a ‘Made in Sierra Leone’ quality certification scheme, and helped industry stakeholders establish the Fashion Design and Textile Association. More recently, the programme has contributed to discussions on copyright and intellectual property reform, helping ensure that the needs of fashion and other creative businesses are reflected in the development of Sierra Leone’s creative economy.

This knowledge bank brings together Invest Salone’s experience and resources from its work in the fashion and textiles sector, including the programme timeline, research, insights, news stories and videos. It documents how different interventions contributed to sector development and captures lessons that may be valuable to businesses, industry organisations, policymakers, development practitioners and others working in fashion, textiles and the wider creative economy.

Invest Salone’s legacy lies in the businesses and initiatives it supported, as well as in the capabilities, partnerships and industry structures strengthened through this work. Businesses have improved their commercial and export readiness, Sierra Leonean designers and traditional textiles have gained greater visibility, and the establishment of a national industry association has created a platform for coordination and collective action. Together with ongoing efforts to strengthen quality standards, intellectual property protection and the broader business environment, these advances provide a foundation that businesses, industry leaders and public institutions can continue to build on as the sector evolves.

In focus

Background

News stories

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